THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINA 


This  BOOK  may  be  kept  out  ONE  MONTH 
ONLY,  and  is  subject  to  a  fine  of  FIVE 
CENTS  a  day  thereafter.  It  is  DUE  on  the 
DAY  indicated  below: 


§ 


THOMAS  CARLYLE'S  WORKS 

IN    1 8  VOLUMES 

Volume  IX 


TALES  BY 
MUS^US,  TIECK,  RICHTER 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/thomascarlyleswo09carl 


Cyi/Ul#(EltS. 


TALES  BY 

MUS^US,  TIECK 
RICHTER 

Translated  from   the  German 


By   THOMAS  CARLYLE 


[1827] 


WITH  PORTRAIT 


FUNK  &  WAGN ALLS  COMPANY 
NEW  YORK 
1905 


CONTENTS 


MUS.EUS : 

PAGE 

v 

Dumb  Love  3 

Libussa  ,       .  .58 

Melechsala   98 

TIECK : 

The  Fair-haired  Eckbert   159 

The  Trusty  Eckari  175 

The  Runenberg   .  .200 

The  Elves   220 

The  Goblet   .  238 

RICHTER: 

Schmelzle's  Journey  to  Fl;etz  25? 

Life  of  Quintus  Fixlein  305 


Portrait  of  Mus^eus   .  Frontispiece 


MUSiEUS. 


VOL.  III. 


B 


DUMB  LOVE.1 

 ♦  

Theee  was  once  a  wealthy  merchant,  Melchior  of  Bremen  by 
name,  who  used  to  stroke  his  beard  with  a  contemptuous  grin, 
when  he  heard  the  Eich  Man  in  the  Gospel  preached  of,  whom, 
in  comparison,  he  reckoned  little  better  than  a  petty  shopkeeper. 
Melchior  had  money  in  such  plenty,  that  he  floored  his  dining- 
room  all  over  with  a  coat  of  solid  dollars.  In  those  frugal  times, 
as  in  our  own,  a  certain  luxury  prevailed  among  the  rich ;  only 
then  it  had  a  more  substantial  shape  than  now.  But  though  this 
pomp  of  Melchior' s  was  sharply  censured  by  his  fellow- citizens 
and  consorts,  it  was,  in  truth,  directed  more  to  trading  specula- 
tion than  to  mere  vain-glory.  The  cunning  Bremer  easily  ob- 
served, that  those  who  grudged  and  blamed  this  seeming  vanity, 
would  but  diffuse  the  reputation  of  his  wealth,  and  so  increase  his 
credit.  He  gained  his  purpose  to  the  full ;  the  sleeping  capital 
of  old  dollars,  so  judiciously  set  up  to  public  inspection  in  the 
parlour,  brought  interest  a  hundredfold,  by  the  silent  surety  which 
it  offered  for  his  bargains  in  every  market ;  yet,  at  last,  it  became 
a  rock  on  which  the  welfare  of  his  family  made  shipwreck. 

Melchior  of  Bremen  died  of  a  surfeit  at  a  city-feast,  without 
having  time  to  set  his  house  in  order ;  and  left  all  his  goods  and 
chattels  to  an  only  son,  in  the  bloom  of  life,  and  just  arrived  at 
the  years  when  the  laws  allowed  him  to  take  possession  of  his 
inheritance.  Franz  Melcherson  was  a  brilliant  youth,  endued 
by  nature  with  the  best  capacities.  His  exterior  was  gracefully 
formed,  yet  firm  and  sinewy  withal ;  his  temper  was  cheery  and 
jovial,  as  if  hung-beef  and  old  French  wine  had  joined  to  influence 
his  formation.    On  his  chocks  bloomed  health;  and  from  his 

1  Prefatory  Introduction  to  Musaous,  supra,  at  p.  316,  Vol.  VI.  of  Works 
(Vol.  I.  of  Miscellanies), 


4 


MUS^lUS. 


brown  eyes  looked  mirthfulness  and  love  of  joy.  He  was  like  a 
marrowy  plant,  which  needs  but  water  and  the  poorest  ground  to 
make  it  grow  to  strength ;  but  which,  in  too  fat  a  soil,  will  shoot 
into  luxuriant  overgrowth,  without  fruit  or  usefulness.  The  father's 
heritage,  as  often  happens,  proved  the  ruin  of  the  son.  Scarce 
had  he  felt  the  joy  of  being  sole  possessor  and  disposer  of  a  large 
fortune,  when  he  set  about  endeavouring  to  get  rid  of  it  as  of  a 
galling  burden  ;  began  to  play  the  Kich  Man  in  the  Gospel  to  the 
very  letter ;  went  clothed  in  fine  apparel,  and  fared  sumptuously 
every  day.  No  feast  at  the  bishop's  court  could  be  compared  for 
pomp  and  superfluity  with  his  ;  and  never  while  the  town  of  Bre- 
men shall  endure,  will  such  another  public  dinner  be  consumed, 
as  it  yearly  got  from  him ;  for  to  every  burgher  of  the  place  he 
gave  a  Krusel-soup  and  a  jug  of  Spanish  wine.  For  this,  all 
people  cried :  Long  life  to  him  !  and  Franz  became  the  hero  of 
the  day. 

In  this  unceasing  whirl  of  joviality,  no  thought  was  cast  upon 
the  Balancing  of  Entries,  which,  in  those  days,  was  the  merchant's 
vade-mecum,  though  in  our  times  it  is  going  out  of  fashion,  and 
for  want  of  it  the  tongue  of  the  commercial  beam  too  frequently 
declines  with  a  magnetic  virtue  from  the  vertical  position.  Some 
years  passed  on  without  the  joyful  Franz's  noticing  a  diminution 
in  his  incomes ;  for  at  his  father's  death  every  chest  and  coffer 
had  been  full.  The  voracious  host  of  table-friends,  the  airy  com- 
pany of  jesters,  gamesters,  parasites,  and  all  who  had  their  living 
by  the  prodigal  son,  took  special  care  to  keep  reflection  at  a  dist- 
ance from  him ;  they  hurried  him  from  one  enjoyment  to  another; 
kept  him  constantly  in  play,  lest  in  some  sober  moment  Keason 
might  awake,  and  snatch  him  from  their  plundering  claws. 

But  at  last  their  well  of  happiness  went  suddenly  dry ;  old 
Melchior's  casks  of  gold  were  now  run  off  even  to  the  lees.  One 
day,  Franz  ordered  payment  of  a  large  account ;  his  cash-keeper 
was  not  in  a  state  to  execute  the  precept,  and  returned  it  with  a 
protest.  This  counter-incident  flashed  keenly  through  the  soul 
of  Franz ;  yet  he  felt  nothing  else  but  anger  and  vexation  at  his 
servant,  to  whose  unaccountable  perversity,  by  no  means  to  his 
own  ill  husbandry,  he  charged  the  present  disorder  in  his  finances. 
Nor  did  he  give  himself  the  trouble  to  investigate  the  real  condi- 
tion of  the  business  ;  but  after  flying  to  the  common  Fool's-litany, 
and  thundering  out  some  scores  of  curses,  he  transmitted  to  his 
shoulder- shrugging  steward  the  laconic  order:  Find  means. 


DUMB  LOVE, 


5 


Bill-brokers,  usurers  and  money-changers  now  came  into  play. 
For  high  interest,  fresh  sums  were  poured  into  the  empty  coffers  ; 
the  silver  flooring  of  the  dining-room  was  then  more  potent  in  the 
eyes  of  creditors,  than  in  these  times  of  ours  the  promissory  obli- 
gation of  the  Congress  of  America,  with  the  whole  thirteen  United 
States  to  back  it.  This  palliative  succeeded  for  a  season  ;  but, 
underhand,  the  rumour  spread  about  the  town,  that  the  silver 
flooring  had  been  privily  removed,  and  a  stone  one  substituted  in 
its  stead.  The  matter  was  immediately,  by  application  of  the 
lenders,  legally  inquired  into,  and  discovered  to  be  actually  so. 
Now,  it  could  not  be  denied,  that  a  marble-floor,  worked  into  nice 
Mosaic,  looked  much  better  in  a  parlour,  than  a  sheet  of  dirty, 
tarnished  dollars  :  the  creditors,  however,  paid  so  little  reverence 
to  the  proprietor's  refinement  of  taste,  that  on  the  spot  they,  one 
and  all,  demanded  payment  of  their  several  moneys ;  and  as  this 
was  not  complied  with,  they  proceeded  to  procure  an  act  of  bank- 
ruptcy; and  Melchior's  house,  with  its  appurtenances,  offices, 
gardens,  parks  and  furniture,  were  sold  by  public  auction,  and  their 
late  owner,  who  in  this  extremity  had  screened  himself  from  jail 
by  some  chicanery  of  law,  judicially  ejected. 

It  was  now  too  late  to  moralise  on  his  absurdities,  since  philo- 
sophical reflections  could  not  alter  what  was  done,  and  the  most 
wholesome  resolutions  would  not  bring  him  back  his  money.  Ac- 
cording to  the  principles  of  this  our  cultivated  century,  the  hero 
at  this  juncture  ought  to  have  retired  with  dignity  from  the  stage, 
or  in  some  way  terminated  his  existence ;  to  have  entered  on  his 
travels  into  foreign  parts,  or  opened  his  carotid  artery ;  since  in 
his  native  town  he  could  live  no  longer  as  a  man  of  honour.  Franz 
neither  did  the  one  nor  the  other.  The  qu'en-dira-t-on,  which 
French  morality  employs  as  bit  and  curb  for  thoughtlessness  and 
folly,  had  never  once  occurred  to  the  unbridled  squanderer  in  the 
days  of  his  profusion,  and  his  sensibility  was  still  too  dull  to  feel 
so  keenly  the  disgrace  of  his  capricious  wastefulness.  He  was 
like  a  toper,  who  has  been  in  drink,  and  on  awakening  out  of  his 
carousal,  cannot  rightly  understand  how  matters  are  or  have  been 
with  him.  He  lived  according  to  the  manner  of  unprospering 
spendthrifts ;  repented  not,  lamented  not.  By  good  fortune,  he 
had  picked  some  relics  from  the  wreck ;  a  few  small  heir-looms 
of  the  family ;  and  these  secured  him  for  a  time  from  absolute 
starvation. 

He  engaged  a  lodging  in  a  remote  alley,  into  which  the  sun 


6 


MUS^US. 


never  shone  throughout  the  year,  except  for  a  few  days  about  the 
solstice,  when  it  peeped  for  a  short  while  over  the  high  roofs.  Here 
he  found  the  little  that  his  now  much- contracted  wants  required. 
The  frugal  kitchen  of  his  landlord  screened  him  from  hunger,  the 
stove  from  cold,  the  roof  from  rain,  the  four  walls  from  wind ;  only 
from  the  pains  of  tedium  he  could  devise  no  refuge  or  resource. 
The  light  rabble  of  parasites  had  fled  away  with  his  prosperity ; 
and  of  his  former  friends  there  was  now  no  one  that  knew  him. 
Reading  had  not  yet  become  a  necessary  of  life ;  people  did  not 
yet  understand  the  art  of  killing  time  by  means  of  those  amusing 
shapes  of  fancy  which  are  wont  to  lodge  in  empty  heads.  There 
were  yet  no  sentimental,  pedagogic,  psychologic,  popular,  simple, 
comic,  or  moral  tales ;  no  novels  of  domestic  life,  no  cloister- 
stories,  no  romances  of  the  middle  ages  ;  and  of  the  innumerable 
generation  of  our  Henrys,  and  Adelaides,  and  Cliffords,  and  Em- 
mas, no  one  had  as  yet  lifted  up  its  mantua-maker  voice,  to  weary 
out  the  patience  of  a  lazy  and  discerning  public.  In  those  days, 
knights  were  still  diligently  pricking  round  the  tilt-yard ;  Dietrich 
of  Bern,  Hildebrand,  Seyfried  with  the  Horns,  Rennewart  the 
Strong,  were  following  their  snake  and  dragon  hunt,  and  killing 
giants  and  dwarfs  of  twelve  men's  strength.  The  venerable  epos, 
Theuerdank,  was  the  loftiest  ideal  of  German  art  and  skill,  the 
latest  product  of  our  native  wit,  but  only  for  the  cultivated  minds, 
the  poets  and  thinkers  of  the  age.  Franz  belonged  to  none  of 
those  classes,  and  had  therefore  nothing  to  employ  himself  upon, 
except  that  he  tuned  his  lute,  and  sometimes  twanged  a  little  on 
it ;  then,  by  way  of  variation,  took  to  looking  from  the  window, 
and  instituted  observations  on  the  weather ;  out  of  which,  indeed, 
there  came  no  inference  a  whit  more  edifying  than  from  all  the 
labours  of  the  most  rheumatic  meteorologist  of  this  present  age. 
Meanwhile  his  turn  for  observation  ere  long  found  another  sort 
of  nourishment,  by  which  the  vacant  space  in  his  head  and  heart 
was  at  once  filled. 

In  the  narrow  lane  right  opposite  his  window  dwelt  an  honest 
matron,  who,  in  hope  of  better  times,  was  earning  a  painful  living 
by  the  long  threads,  which,  assisted  by  a  marvellously  fair  daugh- 
ter, she  winded  daily  from  her  spindle.  Day  after  day  the  couple 
spun  a  length  of  yarn,  with  which  the  whole  town  of  Bremen,  with 
its  walls  and  trenches,  and  all  its  suburbs,  might  have  been  begirt. 
These  two  spinners  had  not  been  born  for  the  wheel;  they  were 
of  good  descent,  and  had  lived  of  old  in  pleasant  affluence.  The 


DUMB  LOVE. 


7 


fair  Meta's  father  had  once  had  a  ship  of  his  own  on  the  sea,  and, 
freighting  it  himself,  had  yearly  sailed  to  Antwerp ;  but  a  heavy 
storm  had  sunk  the  vessel,  "  with  man  and  mouse,"  and  a  rich 
cargo,  into  the  abysses  of  the  ocean,  before  Meta  had  passed  the 
years  of  her  childhood.  The  mother,  a  staid  and  reasonable 
woman,  bore  the  loss  of  her  husband  and  all  her  fortune  with  a 
wise  composure ;  in  her  need  she  refused,  out  of  noble  pride,  all 
help  from  the  charitable  sympathy  of  her  relations  and  friends ; 
considering  it  as  shameful  alms,  so  long  as  she  believed,  that  in 
her  own  activity  she  might  find  a  living  by  the  labour  of  her 
hands.  She  gave  up  her  large  house,  and  all  her  costly  furniture, 
to  the  rigorous  creditors  of  her  ill-fated  husband,  hired  a  little 
dwelling  in  the  lane,  and  span  from  early  morning  till  late  night, 
though  the  trade  went  sore  against  her,  and  she  often  wetted  the 
thread  with  her  tears.  Yet  by  this  diligence  she  reached  her 
object,  of  depending  upon  no  one,  and  owing  no  mortal  any  obli- 
gation. By  and  by  she  trained  her  growing  daughter  to  the  same 
employment ;  and  lived  so  thriftily,  that  she  laid-by  a  trifle  of  her 
gainings,  and  turned  it  to  account  by  carrying  on  a  little  trade 
in  flax. 

She,  however,  nowise  purposed  to  conclude  her  life  in  these 
poor  circumstances ;  on  the  contrary,  the  honest  dame  kept  up 
her  heart  with  happy  prospects  into  the  future,  and  hoped  that 
she  should  once  more  attain  a  prosperous  situation,  and  in  the 
autumn  of  her  life  enjoy  her  woman' s-summer.  Nor  were  these 
hopes  grounded  altogether  upon  empty  dreams  of  fancy,  but  upon 
a  rational  and  calculated  expectation.  She  saw  her  daughter 
budding  up  like  a  spring  rose,  no  less  virtuous  and  modest  than 
she  was  fair ;  and  with  such  endowments  of  art  and  spirit,  that 
the  mother  felt  delight  and  comfort  in  her,  and  spared  the  morsel 
from  her  own  lips,  that  nothing  might  be  wanting  in  an  educa- 
tion suitable  to  her  capacities.  For  she  thought,  that  if  a  maiden 
could  come  up  to  the  sketch  which  Solomon,  the  wise  friend  of 
woman,  has  left  of  the  ideal  of  a  perfect  wife,  it  could  not  fail 
that  a  pearl  of  such  price  would  be  sought  after,  and  bidden  for, 
to  ornament  some  good  man's  house ;  for  beauty  combined  with 
virtue,  in  the  days  of  Mother  Brigitta,  were  as  important  in  the 
eyes  of  wooers,  as,  in  our  days,  birth  combined  with  fortune. 
Besides,  the  number  of  suitors  was  in  those  times  greater;  it 
was  then  believed  that  the  wife  was  the  most  essential,  not,  as 
in  our  refined  economical  theory,  the  most  superfluous  item  in 


8 


MUS^US. 


the  household.  The  fair  Meta,  it  is  true,  bloomed  only  like  a 
precious  rare  flower  in  the  greenhouse,  not  under  the  gay,  free 
sky;  she  lived  in  maternal  oversight  and  keeping,  sequestered 
and  still;  was  seen  in  no  walk,  in  no  company;  and  scarcely 
once  in  the  year  passed  through  the  gate  of  her  native  town  ;  all 
which  seemed  utterly  to  contradict  her  mother's  principle.  The 
old  Lady  E  *  *  of  Memel  understood  it  otherwise,  in  her  time. 
She  sent  the  itinerant  Sophia,  it  is  clear  as  day,  from  Memel  into 
Saxony,  simply  on  a  marriage  speculation,  and  attained  her  pur- 
pose fully.  How  many  hearts  did  the  wandering  nymph  set  on 
fire,  how  many  suitors  courted  her !  Had  she  stayed  at  home,  as 
a  domestic  modest  maiden,  she  might  have  bloomed  away  in  the 
remoteness  of  her  virgin  cell,  without  even  making  a  conquest  of 
Kubbuz  the  schoolmaster.  Other  times,  other  manners.  Daugh- 
ters with  us  are  a  sleeping  capital,  which  must  be  put  in  circula- 
tion if  it  is  to  yield  any  interest ;  of  old,  they  were  kept  like 
thrifty  savings,  under  lock  and  key ;  yet  the  bankers  still  knew 
where  the  treasure  lay  concealed,  and  how  it  might  be  come  at. 
Mother  Brigitta  steered  towards  some  prosperous  son-in-law,  who 
might  lead  her  back  from  the  Babylonian  captivity  of  the  narrow 
lane  into  the  land  of  superfluity,  flowing  with  milk  and  honey ; 
and  trusted  firmly,  that  in  the  urn  of  Fate,  her  daughter's  lot 
would  not  be  coupled  with  a  blank. 

One  day,  while  neighbour  Franz  was  looking  from  the  win- 
dow, making  observations  on  the  weather,  he  perceived  the  charm- 
ing Meta  coming  with  her  mother  from  church,  whither  she  went 
daily,  to  attend  mass.  In  the  times  of  his  abundance,  the  un- 
stable voluptuary  had  been  blind  to  the  fairer  half  of  the  species  ; 
the  finer  feelings  were  still  slumbering  in  his  breast ;  and  all  his 
senses  had  been  overclouded  by  the  ceaseless  tumult  of  debauchery. 
But  now  the  stormy  waves  of  extravagance  had  subsided ;  and 
in  this  deep  calm,  the  smallest  breath  of  air  sufficed  to  curl  the 
mirror  surface  of  his  soul.  He  was  enchanted  by  the  aspect  of 
this,  the  loveliest  female  figure  that  had  ever  flitted  past  him. 
He  abandoned  from  that  hour  the  barren  study  of  the  winds  and 
clouds,  and  now  instituted  quite  another  set  of  Observations  for 
the  furtherance  of  Moral  Science,  and  one  which  afforded  to  him- 
self much  finer  occupation.  He  soon  extracted  from  his  landlord 
intelligence  of  this  fair  neighbour,  and  learned  most  part  of  what 
we  know  already. 

Now  rose  on  him  the  first  repentant  thought  for  his  heedless 


DUMB  LOVE. 


9 


squandering ;  there  awoke  a  secret  good-will  in  his  heart  to  this 
new  acquaintance ;  and  for  her  sake  he  wished  that  his  paternal 
inheritance  were  his  own  again,  that  the  lovely  Meta  might  be 
fitly  dowered  with  it.  His  garret  in  the  narrow  lane  was  now  so 
dear  to  him,  that  he  would  not  have  exchanged  it  with  the  Schud- 
ding  itself.2  Throughout  the  day  he  stirred  not  from  the  window, 
watching  for  an  opportunity  of  glancing  at  the  dear  maiden  ;  and 
when  she  chanced  to  show  herself,  he  felt  more  rapture  in  his 
soul  than  did  Horrox  in  his  Liverpool  Observatory,  when  he  saw, 
for  the  first  time,  Venus  passing  over  the  disk  of  the  Sun. 

Unhappily  the  watchful  mother  instituted  counter  -  observa- 
tions, and  ere  long  discovered  what  the  lounger  on  the  other  side 
was  driving  at ;  and  as  Franz,  in  the  capacity  of  spendthrift, 
already  stood  in  very  bad  esteem  with  her,  this  daily  gazing  an- 
gered her  so  much,  that  she  shrouded  her  lattice  as  with  a  cloud, 
and  drew  the  curtains  close  together.  Meta  had  the  strictest 
orders  not  again  to  appear  at  the  window ;  and  when  her  mother 
went  with  her  to  mass,  she  drew  a  rain-cap  over  her  face,  disguised 
her  like  a  favourite  of  the  Grand  Signior,  and  hurried  till  she  turned 
the  corner  with  her,  and  escaped  the  eyes  of  the  lier-in-wait. 

Of  Franz,  it  was  not  held  that  penetration  was  his  master 
faculty ;  but  Love  awakens  all  the  talents  of  the  mind.  He  ob- 
served, that  by  his  imprudent  spying,  he  had  betrayed  himself; 
and  he  thenceforth  retired  from  the  window,  with  the  resolution 
not  again  to  look  out  at  it,  though  the  Venerabile  itself  were 
carried  by.  On  the  other  hand,  he  meditated  some  invention  for 
proceeding  with  his  observations  in  a  private  manner ;  and  with- 
out great  labour,  his  combining  spirit  mastered  it. 

He  hired  the  largest  looking-glass  that  he  could  find,  and 
hung  it  up  in  his  room,  with  such  an  elevation  and  direction,  that 
he  could  distinctly  see  whatever  passed  in  the  dwelling  of  his 
neighbours.  Here,  as  for  several  days  the  w7atcher  did  not  come 
to  light,  the  screens  by  degrees  went  asunder;  and  the  broad 
mirror  now  and  then  could  catch  the  form  of  the  noble  maid,  and, 
to  the  great  refreshment  of  the  virtuoso,  cast  it  truly  back.  The 
more  deeply  love  took  root  in  his  heart,3  the  more  widely  did  his 
wishes  extend.  It  now  struck  him  that  he  ought  to  lay  his 
passion  open  to  the  fair  Meta,  and  investigate  the  corresponding 

2  One  of  the  largest  buildings  in  Bremen,  where  the  meetings  of  the  mer- 
chants are  usually  held. 

3  'Airb  tov  bpav  epx^rai  rb  4pa,y, 


10 


MUS^US. 


state  of  her  opinions.  The  commonest  and  readiest  way  which 
lovers,  under  such  a  constellation  of  their  wishes,  strike  into,  was 
in  his  position  inaccessible.  In  those  modest  ages,  it  was  always 
difficult  for  Paladins  in  love  to  introduce  themselves  to  daughters 
of  the  family ;  toilette  calls  were  not  in  fashion ;  trustful  inter- 
views tete-a-tete  were  punished  by  the  loss  of  reputation  to  the 
female  sharer;  promenades,  esplanades,  masquerades,  pic-nics, 
goutes,  soupes,  and  other  inventions  of  modern  wit  for  forward- 
ing sweet  courtship,  had  not  then  been  hit  upon ;  yet,  notwith- 
standing, all  things  went  their  course,  much  as  they  do  with  us. 
Gossipings,  weddings,  lykewakes,  were,  especially  in  our  Imperial 
Cities,  privileged  vehicles  for  carrying  on  soft  secrets,  and  expe- 
diting marriage  contracts ;  hence  the  old  proverb,  One  wedding 
makes  a  score.  But  a  poor  runagate  no  man  desired  to  number 
among  his  baptismal  relatives ;  to  no  nuptial  dinner,  to  no  wake- 
supper,  was  he  bidden.  The  by-way  of  negotiating,  with  the 
woman,  with  the  young  maid,  or  any  other  serviceable  spirit  of 
a  go-between,  was  here  locked  up.  Mother  Brigitta  had  neither 
maid  nor  woman ;  the  flax  and  yarn  trade  passed  through  no 
hands  but  her  own ;  and  she  abode  by  her  daughter  as  closely 
as  her  shadow. 

In  these  circumstances,  it  was  clearly  impossible  for  neigh- 
bour Franz  to  disclose  his  heart  to  the  fair  Meta,  either  verbally 
or  in  writing.  Ere  long,  however,  he  invented  an  idiom,  which 
appeared  expressly  calculated  for  the  utterance  of  the  passions. 
It  is  true,  the  honour  of  the  first  invention  is  not  his.  Many 
ages  ago,  the  sentimental  Celadons  of  Italy  and  Spain  had  taught 
melting  harmonies,  in  serenades  beneath  the  balconies  of  their 
dames,  to  speak  the  language  of  the  heart ;  and  it  is  said  that 
this  melodious  pathos  had  especial  virtue  in  love-matters ;  and, 
by  the  confession  of  the  ladies,  was  more  heart-affecting  and  sub- 
duing, than  of  yore  the  oratory  of  the  reverend  Chrysostom,  or 
the  pleadings  of  Demosthenes  and  Tully.  But  of  all  this  the 
simple  Bremer  had  not  heard  a  syllable;  and  consequently  the 
invention  of  expressing  his  emotions  in  symphonious  notes,  and 
trilling  them  to  his  beloved  Meta,  was  entirely  his  own. 

In  an  hour  of  sentiment,  he  took  his  lute :  he  did  not  now 
tune  it  merely  to  accompany  his  voice,  but  drew  harmonious 
melodies  from  its  strings ;  and  Love,  in  less  than  a  month,  had 
changed  the  musical  scraper  to  a  new  Amphion.  His  first  efforts 
did  not  seem  to  have  been  noticed ;  but  soon  the  population  of 


DUMB  LOVE. 


11 


the  lane  were  all  ear,  every  time  the  dilettante  struck  a  note, 
Mothers  hushed  their  children,  fathers  drove  the  noisy  urchins 
from  the  doors,  and  the  performer  had  the  satisfaction  to  observe 
that  Meta  herself,  with  her  alabaster  hand,  would  sometimes  open 
the  window  as  he  began  to  prelude.  If  he  succeeded  in  enticing 
her  to  lend  an  ear,  his  voluntaries  whirled  along  in  gay  allegro, 
or  skipped  away  in  mirthful  jigs  ;  but  if  the  turning  of  the  spindle, 
or  her  thrifty  mother,  kept  her  back,  a  heavy-laden  andante  rolled 
over  the  bridge  of  the  sighing  lute,  and  expressed,  in  languishing 
modulations,  the  feeling  of  sadness  which  love-pain  poured  over 
his  soul. 

Meta  was  no  dull  scholar ;  she  soon  learned  to  interpret  this 
expressive  speech.  She  made  various  experiments  to  try  whether 
she  had  rightly  understood  it,  and  found  that  she  could  govern 
at  her  will  the  dilettante  humours  of  the  unseen  lute-twanger ; 
for  your  silent  modest  maidens,  it  is  well  known,  have  a  much 
sharper  eye  than  those  giddy  flighty  girls,  who  hurry  with  the 
levity  of  butterflies  from  one  object  to  another,  and  take  proper 
heed  of  none.  She  felt  her  female  vanity  a  little  flattered ;  and 
it  pleased  her  that  she  had  it  in  her  power,  by  a  secret  magic,  to 
direct  the  neighbouring  lute,  and  tune  it  now  to  the  note  of  joy, 
now  to  the  whimpering  moan  of  grief.  Mother  Brigitta,  on  the 
other  hand,  had  her  head  so  constantly  employed  with  her  traffic 
on  the  small  scale,  that  she  minded  none  of  these  things ;  and 
the  sly  little  daughter  took  especial  care  to  keep  her  in  the  dark 
respecting  the  discovery;  and,  instigated  either  by  some  touch 
of  kindness  for  her  cooing  neighbour,  or  perhaps  by  vanity,  that 
she  might  show  her  hermeneutic  penetration,  meditated  on  the 
means  of  making  some  symbolical  response  to  these  harmonious 
apostrophes  to  her  heart.  She  expressed  a  wish  to  have  flower- 
pots on  the  outside  of  the  window ;  and  to  grant  her  this  inno- 
cent amusement  was  a  light  thing  for  the  mother,  who  no  longer 
feared  the  coney-catching  neighbour,  now  that  she  no  longer  saw 
him  with  her  eyes. 

Henceforth  Meta  had  a  frequent  call  to  tend  her  flowers,  to 
water  them,  to  bind  them  up,  and  guard  them  from  approaching 
storms,  and  watch  their  growth  and  flourishing.  With  inexpres- 
sible delight  the  happy  Franz  explained  this  hieroglyphic  alto- 
gether in  his  favour ;  and  the  speaking  lute  did  not  fail  to  modu- 
late his  glad  emotions,  through  the  alley,  into  the  heedful  ear  of 
the  fair  friend  of  flowers.  This,  in  her  tender  virgin  heart,  worked 


12 


MUS^US. 


wonders.  She  began  to  be  secretly  vexed,  when  Mother  Brigitta, 
in  her  wise  table-talk,  in  which  at  times  she  spent  an  hour  chatting 
with  her  daughter,  brought  their  melodious  neighbour  to  her  bar, 
and  called  him  a  losel  and  a  sluggard,  or  compared  him  with  the 
Prodigal  in  the  Gospel.  She  always  took  his  part ;  threw  the 
blame  of  his  ruin  on  the  sorrowful  temptations  he  had  met  with ; 
and  accused  him  of  nothing  worse  than  not  having  fitly  weighed 
the  golden  proverb,  A  'penny  saved  is  a  penny  got.  Yet  she  de- 
fended him  with  cunning  prudence ;  so  that  it  rather  seemed  as 
if  she  wished  to  help  the  conversation,  than  took  any  interest  in 
the  thing  itself. 

While  Mother  Brigitta  within  her  four  walls  was  inveighing 
against  the  luckless  spendthrift,  he  on  his  side  entertained  the 
kindest  feelings  towards  her ;  and  was  considering  diligently  how 
he  might,  according  to  his  means,  improve  her  straitened  circum- 
stances, and  divide  with  her  the  little  that  remained  to  him,  and 
so  that  she  might  never  notice  that  a  portion  of  his  property  had 
passed  over  into  hers.  This  pious  outlay,  in  good  truth,  was  spe- 
cially intended  not  for  the  mother,  but  the  daughter.  Underhand 
he  had  come  to  know,  that  the  fair  Meta  had  a  hankering  for  a 
new  gown,  which  her  mother  had  excused  herself  from  buying, 
under  pretext  of  hard  times.  Yet  he  judged  quite  accurately,  that 
a  present  of  a  piece  of  stuff,  from  an  unknown  hand,  would  scarcely 
be  received,  or  cut  into  a  dress  for  Meta;  and  that  he  should 
spoil  all,  if  he  stept  forth  and  avowed  himself  the  author  of  the 
benefaction.  Chance  afforded  him  an  opportunity  to  realise  this 
purpose  in  the  way  he  wished. 

Mother  Brigitta  was  complaining  to  a  neighbour,  that  flax  was 
very  dull ;  that  it  cost  her  more  to  purchase  than  the  buyers  of  it 
would  repay ;  and  that  hence  this  branch  of  industry  was  nothing 
better  for  the  present,  than  a  withered  bough.  Eaves-dropper 
Franz  did  not  need  a  second  telling ;  he  ran  directly  to  the  gold- 
smith, sold  his  mother's  ear-rings,  bought  some  stones  of  flax, 
and,  by  means  of  a  negotiatress,  whom  he  gained,  had  it  offered 
to  the  mother  for  a  cheap  price.  The  bargain  was  concluded ; 
and  it  yielded  so  richly,  that  on  All- Saints'  day  the  fair  Meta 
sparkled  in  a  fine  new  gown.  In  this  decoration,  she  had  such  a 
splendour  in  her  watchful  neighbour's  eyes,  that  he  would  have 
overlooked  the  Eleven  Thousand  Virgins,  all  and  sundry,  had  it 
been  permitted  him  to  choose  a  heart' s-mate  from  among  them, 
and  fixed  upon  the  charming  Meta. 


DUMB  LOVE. 


13 


But  just  as  he  was  triumphing  in  the  result  of  his  innocent 
deceit,  the  secret  was  betrayed.  Mother  Brigitta  had  resolved  to 
do  the  flax-retailer,  who  had  brought  her  that  rich  gain,  a  kind- 
ness in  her  turn ;  and  was  treating  her  with  a  well- sugared  rice- 
pap,  and  a  quarter-stoop  of  Spanish  sack.  This  dainty  set  in 
motion  not  only  the  toothless  jaw,  but  also  the  garrulous  tongue 
of  the  crone  :  she  engaged  to  continue  the  flax-brokerage,  should 
her  consigner  feel  inclined,  as  from  good  grounds  she  guessed  he 
would.  One  word  produced  another ;  Mother  Eve's  two  daughters 
searched,  with  the  curiosity  peculiar  to  their  sex,  till  at  length 
the  brittle  seal  of  female  secrecy  gave  way.  Meta  grew  pale  with 
affright  at  the  discovery,  which  would  have  charmed  her,  had  her 
mother  not  partaken  of  it.  But  she  knew  her  strict  ideas  of 
morals  and  decorum  ;  and  these  gave  her  doubts  about  the  pre- 
servation of  her  gown.  The  serious  dame  herself  was  no  less 
struck  at  the  tidings,  and  wished,  on  her  side  too,  that  she  alone 
had  got  intelligence  of  the  specific  nature  of  her  flax-trade ;  for 
she  dreaded  that  this  neighbourly  munificence  might  make  an  im- 
pression on  her  daughter's  heart,  which  would  derange  her  whole 
calculations.  She  resolved,  therefore,  to  root  out  the  still  tender 
germ  of  this  weed,  in  the  very  act,  from  the  maiden  heart.  The 
gown,  in  spite  of  all  the  tears  and  prayers  of  its  lovely  owner,  was 
first  hypothecated,  and  next  day  transmitted  to  the  huckster's  shop ; 
the  money  raised  from  it,  with  the  other  profits  of  the  flax  specu- 
lation, accurately  reckoned  up,  were  packed  together,  and  under 
the  name  of  an  old  debt,  returned  to  "  Mr.  Franz  Melcherson,  in 
Bremen,"  by  help  of  the  Hamburg  post.  The  receiver,  nothing 
doubting,  took  the  little  lot  of  money  as  an  unexpected  blessing ; 
wished  that  all  his  father's  debtors  would  clear  off  their  old  scores 
as  conscientiously  as  this  honest  unknown  person ;  and  had  not 
the  smallest  notion  of  the  real  position  of  affairs.  The  talking 
brokeress,  of  course,  was  far  from  giving  him  a  true  disclosure  of 
her  blabbing ;  she  merely  told  him  that  Mother  Brigitta  had  given 
up  her  flax-trade. 

Meanwhile,  the  mirror  taught  him,  that  the  aspects  over  the 
way  had  altered  greatly  in  a  single  night.  The  flower-pots  were 
entirely  vanished ;  and  the  cloudy  veil  again  obscured  the  friendly 
horizon  of  the  opposite  window.  Meta  was  seldom  visible ;  and 
if  for  a  moment,  like  the  silver  moon,  from  among  her  clouds  in 
a  stormy  night,  she  did  appear,  her  countenance  was  troubled, 
the  fire  of  her  eyes  was  extinguished,  and  it  seemed  to  him,  that, 


14 


MUSJBTJS. 


at  times,  with  her  finger,  she  pressed  away  a  pearly  tear.  This 
seized  him  sharply  by  the  heart ;  and  his  lute  resounded  melan- 
choly sympathy  in  soft  Lydian  mood.  He  grieved,  and  meditated 
to  discover  why  his  love  was  sad ;  but  all  his  thinking  and  ima- 
gining were  vain.  After  some  days  were  past,  he  noticed,  to  his 
consternation,  that  his  dearest  piece  of  furniture,  the  large  mirror, 
had  become  entirely  useless.  He  set  himself  one  bright  morning 
in  his  usual  nook,  and  observed  that  the  clouds  over  the  way  had, 
like  natural  fog,  entirely  dispersed ;  a  sign  which  he  at  first  im- 
puted to  a  general  washing ;  but  ere  long  he  saw  that,  in  the 
chamber,  all  was  waste  and  empty ;  his  pleasing  neighbours  had  in 
silence  withdrawn  the  night  before,  and  broken  up  their  quarters. 

He  might  now,  once  more,  with  the  greatest  leisure  and  con- 
venience, enjoy  the  free  prospect  from  his  window,  without  fear  of 
being  troublesome  to  any  ;  but  for  him  it  was  a  dead  loss  to  miss 
the  kind  countenance  of  his  Platonic  love.  Mute  and  stupefied, 
he  stood,  as  of  old  his  fellow- craftsman,  the  harmonious  Orpheus, 
when  the  dear  shadow  of  his  Eurydice  again  vanished  down  to 
Orcus  ;  and  if  the  bedlam  humour  of  those  "  noble  minds,"  who 
raved  among  us  through  the  bygone  lustre,  but  have  now  like 
drones  disappeared  with  the  earliest  frost,  had  then  been  ripened 
to  existence,  this  calm  of  his  would  certainly  have  passed  into  a 
sudden  hurricane.  The  least  he  could  have  done,  would  have 
been  to  pull  his  hair,  to  trundle  himself  about  upon  the  ground, 
or  run  his  head  against  the  wall,  and  break  his  stove  and  window. 
All  this  he  omitted ;  from  the  very  simple  cause,  that  true  love 
never  makes  men  fools,  but  rather  is  the  universal  remedy  for 
healing  sick  minds  of  their  foolishness,  for  laying  gentle  fetters 
on  extravagance,  and  guiding  youthful  giddiness  from  the  broad 
way  of  ruin  to  the  narrow  path  of  reason  ;  for  the  rake  whom  love 
will  not  recover  is  lost  irrecoverably. 

When  once  his  spirit  had  assembled  its  scattered  powers,  he 
set  on  foot  a  number  of  instructive  meditations  on  the  unexpected 
phenomenon,  but  too  visible  in  the  adjacent  horizon.  He  readily 
conceived  that  he  was  the  lever  which  had  effected  the  removal  of 
the  wandering  colony  :  his  money-letter,  the  abrupt  conclusion  of 
the  flax-trade,  and  the  emigration  which  had  followed  thereupon, 
were  like  reciprocal  exponents  to  each  other,  and  explained  the 
whole  to  him.  He  perceived  that  Mother  Brigitta  had  got  round 
his  secrets,  and  saw  from  every  circumstance  that  he  was  not  her 
hero ;  a  discovery  which  yielded  him  but  little  satisfaction.  The 


DUMB  LOVE. 


15 


symbolic  responses  of  the  fair  Meta,  with  her  flower-pots,  to  his 
musical  proposals  of  love  ;  her  trouble,  and  the  tear  which  he  had 
noticed  in  her  bright  eyes  shortly  before  her  departure  from  the 
lane,  again  animated  his  hopes,  and  kept  him  in  good  heart.  His 
first  employment  was  to  go  in  quest,  and  try  to  learn  where  Mother 
Brigitta  had  pitched  her  residence,  in  order  to  maintain,  by  some 
means  or  other,  his  secret  understanding  with  the  daughter.  It 
cost  him  little  toil  to  find  her  abode ;  yet  he  was  too  modest  to 
shift  his  own  lodging  to  her  neighbourhood ;  but  satisfied  himself 
with  spying  out  the  church  where  she  now  attended  mass,  that  he 
might  treat  himself  once  each  day  with  a  glance  of  his  beloved. 
He  never  failed  to  meet  her  as  she  returned,  now  here,  now  there, 
in  some  shop  or  door  which  she  was  passing,  and  salute  her 
kindly;  an  equivalent  for  a  billet-doux,  and  productive  of  the  same 
effect. 

Had  not  Meta  been  brought  up  in  a  style  too  nunlike,  and 
guarded  by  her  rigid  mother  as  a  treasure,  from  the  eyes  of  thieves, 
there  is  little  doubt  that  neighbour  Franz,  with  his  secret  wooing, 
would  have  made  no  great  impression  on  her  heart.  But  she  was 
at  the  critical  age,  when  Mother  Nature  and  Mother  Brigitta,  with 
their  wise  nurture,  were  perpetually  coming  into  collision.  The 
former  taught  her,  by  a  secret  instinct,  the  existence  of  emotions, 
for  which  she  had  no  name,  and  eulogised  them  as  the  panacea  of 
life  ;  the  latter  warned  her  to  beware  of  tbe  surprisals  of  a  passion, 
which  she  would  not  designate  by  its  true  title,  but  which,  as  she 
maintained,  was  more  pernicious  and  destructive  to  young  maidens 
than  the  small-pox  itself.  The  former,  in  the  spring  of  life,  as 
beseemed  the  season,  enlivened  her  heart  with  a  genial  warmth ; 
the  latter  wished  that  it  should  always  be  as  cold  and  frosty  as  an 
ice-house.  These  conflicting  pedagogic  systems  of  the  two  good 
mothers  gave  the  tractable  heart  of  the  daughter  the  direction  of 
a  ship  which  is  steered  against  the  wind,  and  follows  neither  the 
wind  nor  the  helm,  but  a  course  between  the  two.  She  maintained 
the  modesty  and  virtue  which  her  education,  from  her  youth  up- 
wards, had  impressed  upon  her ;  but  her  heart  continued  open  to 
all  tender  feelings.  And  as  neighbour  Franz  was  the  first  youth 
who  had  awakened  these  slumbering  emotions,  she  took  a  certain 
pleasure  in  him,  which  she  scarcely  owned  to  herself,  but  which 
any  less  unexperienced  maiden  would  have  recognised  as  love.  It 
was  for  this  that  her  departure  from  the  narrow  lane  had  gone  so 
near  her  heart ;  for  this  that  the  little  tear  had  trickled  from  her 


16 


MUS^US. 


beautiful  eyes ;  for  this  that,  when  the  watchful  Franz  saluted  her 
as  she  came  from  church,  she  thanked  him  so  kindly,  and  grew 
scarlet  to  the  ears.  The  lovers  had  in  truth  never  spoken  any 
word  to  one  another ;  but  he  understood  her,  and  she  him,  so 
perfectly,  that  in  the  most  secret  interview  they  could  not  have 
explained  themselves  more  clearly ;  and  both  contracting  parties 
swore  in  their  silent  hearts,  each  for  himself,  under  the  seal  of 
secrecy,  the  oath  of  faithfulness  to  the  other. 

In  the  quarter,  where  Mother  Brigitta  had  now  settled,  there 
were  likewise  neighbours,  and  among  these  likewise  girl-spiers, 
whom  the  beauty  of  the  charming  Meta  had  not  escaped.  Eight 
opposite  their  dwelling  lived  a  wealthy  Brewer,  whom  the  wags  of 
the  part,  as  he  was  strong  in  means,  had  named  the  Hop-King. 
He  was  a  young  stout  widower,  whose  mourning  year  was  just 
concluding,  so  that  now  he  was  entitled,  without  offending  the 
precepts  of  decorum,  to  look  about  him  elsewhere  for  a  new  help- 
mate to  his  household.  Shortly  after  the  departure  of  his  whilom 
wife,  he  had  in  secret  entered  into  an  engagement  with  his  Patron 
Saint,  St.  Christopher,  to  offer  him  a  wax-taper  as  long  as  a  hop- 
pole,  and  as  thick  as  a  mashing-beam,  if  he  would  vouchsafe  in 
this  second  choice  to  prosper  the  desire  of  his  heart.  Scarcely  had 
he  seen  the  dainty  Meta,  when  he  dreamed  that  St.  Christopher 
looked  in  upon  him,  through  the  window  of  his  bedroom  in  the 
second  story,4  and  demanded  payment  of  his  debt.  To  the  quick 
widower  this  seemed  a  heavenly  call  to  cast  out  the  net  without 
delay.  Early  in  the  morning  he  sent  for  the  brokers  of  the  town, 
and  commissioned  them  to  buy  bleached  wax  ;  then  decked  him- 
self like  a  Syndic,  and  set  forth  to  expedite  his  marriage  specula- 
tion. He  had  no  musical  talents,  and  in  the  secret  symbolic 
language  of  love  he  was  no  better  than  a  blockhead  :  but  he  had 
a  rich  brewery,  a  solid  mortgage  on  the  city-revenues,  a  ship  on 
the  Weser,  and  a  farm  without  the  gates.  With  such  recommen- 
dations he  might  have  reckoned  on  a  prosperous  issue  to  his  court- 
ship, independently  of  all  assistance  from  St.  Kit,  especially  as 
his  bride  was  without  dowry. 

According  to  old  use  and  wont,  he  went  directly  to  the  master 
hand,  and  disclosed  to  the  mother,  in  a  kind  neighbourly  way,  his 

4  St.  Christopher  never  appears  to  his  favourites,  like  the  other  Saints,  in  a 
solitary  room,  encircled  with  a  glory :  there  is  no  room  high  enough  to  admit 
him ;  thus  the  celestial  Son  of  Anak  is  obliged  to  transact  all  business  with  his 
wards  outside  the  window. 


DUMB  LOVE. 


17 


christian  intentions  towards  her  virtuous  and  honourable  daugh- 
ter. No  angel's  visit  could  have  charmed  the  good  lady  more 
than  these  glad  tidings.  She  now  saw  ripening  before  her  the  fruit 
of  her  prudent  scheme,  and  the  fulfilment  of  her  hope  again  to 
emerge  from  her  present  poverty  into  her  former  abundance ;  she 
blessed  the  good  thought  of  moving  from  the  crooked  alley,  and 
in  the  first  ebullition  of  her  joy,  as  a  thousand  gay  ideas  were 
ranking  themselves  up  within  her  soul,  she  also  thought  of  neigh- 
bour Franz,  who  had  given  occasion  to  it.  Though  Franz  was  not 
exactly  her  bosom-youth,  she  silently  resolved  to  gladden  him,  as 
the  accidental  instrument  of  her  rising  star,  with  some  secret  gift 
or  other,  and  by  this  means  likewise  recompense  his  well-intended 
flax-dealing. 

In  the  maternal  heart  the  marriage-articles  were  as  good  as 
signed ;  but  decorum  did  not  permit  these  rash  proceedings  in  a 
matter  of  such  moment.  She  therefore  let  the  motion  lie  ad 
referendum,  to  be  considered  by  her  daughter  and  herself;  and 
appointed  a  term  of  eight  days,  after  which  "  she  hoped  she  should 
have  it  in  her  power  to  give  the  much-respected  suitor  a  reply  that 
would  satisfy  him;"  all  which,  as  the  common  manner  of  proceed- 
ing, he  took  in  good  part,  and  with  his  usual  civilities  withdrew. 
No  sooner  had  he  turned  his  back,  than  spinning-wheel  and  reel, 
swingling- stake  and  hatchel,  without  regard  being  paid  to  their 
faithful  services,  and  without  accusation  being  lodged  against  them, 
were  consigned,  like  some  luckless  Parliament  of  Paris,  to  dis- 
grace, and  dismissed  as  useless  implements  into  the  lumber-room. 
On  returning  from  mass,  Meta  was  astonished  at  the  sudden  cata- 
strophe which  had  occurred  in  the  apartment ;  it  was  all  decked 
out  as  on  one  of  the  three  high  Festivals  of  the  year.  She  could 
not  understand  how  her  thrifty  mother,  on  a  work- day,  had  so 
neglectfully  put  her  active  hand  in  her  bosom ;  but  before  she  had 
time  to  question  the  kindly- smiling  dame  concerning  this  reform 
in  household  affairs,  she  was  favoured  by  the  latter  with  an  expla- 
nation of  the  riddle.  Persuasion  rested  on  Brigitta's  tongue;  and 
there  flowed  from  her  lips  a  stream  of  female  eloquence,  depicting 
the  offered  happiness  in  the  liveliest  hues  which  her  imagination 
could  lay  on.  She  expected  from  the  chaste  Meta  the  blush  of 
soft  virgin  bashfulness,  which  announces  the  novitiate  in  love ; 
and  then  a  full  resignation  of  herself  to  the  maternal  will.  For 
of  old,  in  proposals  of  marriage,  daughters  were  situated  as  our 
princesses  are  still ;  they  were  not  asked  about  their  inclination, 

VOL.  III.  c 


18 


MUS^US. 


and  had  no  voice  in  the  selection  of  their  legal  helpmate,  save  the 
Yes  before  the  altar. 

But  Mother  Brigitta  was  in  this  point  widely  mistaken ;  the 
fair  Meta  did  not  at  the  unexpected  announcement  grow  red  as  a 
rose,  but  pale  as  ashes.  An  hysterical  giddiness  swam  over  her 
brain,  and  she  sank  fainting  in  her  mother's  arms.  When  her 
senses  were  recalled  by  the  sprinkling  of  cold  water,  and  she  had 
in  some  degree  recovered  strength,  her  eyes  overflowed  with  tears, 
as  if  a  heavy  misfortune  had  befallen  her.  From  all  these  symp- 
toms, the  sagacious  mother  easily  perceived  that  the  marriage  - 
trade  was  not  to  her  taste  ;  at  which  she  wondered  not  a  little, 
sparing  neither  prayers  nor  admonitions  to  her  daughter  to  secure 
her  happiness  by  this  good  match,  not  flout  it  from  her  by  caprice 
and  contradiction.  But  Meta  could  not  be  persuaded  that  her  hap- 
piness depended  on  a  match,  to  which  her  heart  gave  no  assent. 
The  debates  between  the  mother  and  the  daughter  lasted  several 
days,  from  early  morning  to  late  night ;  the  term  for  decision 
was  approaching ;  the  sacred  taper  for  St.  Christopher,  which  Og 
King  of  Bashan  need  not  have  disdained  had  it  been  lit  for  him 
as  a  marriage -torch  at  his  espousals,  stood  in  readiness,  all  beau- 
tifully painted  with  living  flowers  like  a  many  -  coloured  light, 
though  the  Saint  had  all  the  while  been  so  inactive  in  his  client's 
cause,  that  the  fair  Meta's  heart  was  still  bolted  and  barred  against 
him  fast  as  ever. 

Meanwhile  she  had  bleared  her  eyes  with  weeping,  and  the 
maternal  rhetoric  had  worked  so  powerfully,  that,  like  a  flower 
in  the  sultry  heat,  she  was  drooping  together,  and  visibly  fading 
away.  Hidden  grief  was  gnawing  at  her  heart ;  she  had  pre- 
scribed herself  a  rigorous  fast,  and  for  three  days  no  morsel  had 
she  eaten,  and  with  no  drop  of  water  moistened  her  parched  lips. 
By  night  sleep  never  visited  her  eyes ;  and  with  all  this  she  grew 
sick  to  death,  and  began  to  talk  about  extreme  unction.  As  the 
tender  mother  saw  the  pillar  of  her  hope  wavering,  and  bethought 
herself  that  she  might  lose  both  capital  and  interest  at  once,  she 
found,  on  accurate  consideration,  that  it  would  be  more  advisable 
to  let  the  latter  vanish,  than  to  miss  them  both  ;  and  with  kindly 
indulgence  plied  into  the  daughter's  will.  It  cost  her  much  con- 
straint, indeed,  and  many  hard  battles,  to  turn  away  so  advant- 
ageous an  offer ;  yet  at  last,  according  to  established  order  in 
household  governments,  she  yielded  unconditionally  to  the  incli- 
nation of  her  child,  and  remonstrated  no  more  with  her  beloved 


DUMB  LOVE. 


19 


patient  on  the  subject.  As  the  stout  widower  announced  himself 
on  the  appointed  day,  in  the  full  trust  that  his  heavenly  deputy 
had  arranged  it  all  according  to  his  wish,  he  received,  quite  un- 
expectedly, a  negative  answer,  which,  however,  was  sweetened 
with  such  a  deal  of  blandishment,  that  he  swallowed  it  like  wine- 
of- wormwood  mixed  with  sugar.  For  the  rest,  he  easily  accom- 
modated himself  to  his  destiny ;  and  discomposed  himself  no  more 
about  it,  than  if  some  bargain  for  a  ton  of  malt  had  chanced  to 
come  to  nothing.  Nor,  on  the  whole,  had  he  any  cause  to  sorrow 
without  hope.  His  native  town  has  never  wanted  amiable  daugh- 
ters, who  come  up  to  the  Solomonic  sketch,  and  are  ready  to  make 
perfect  spouses ;  besides,  notwithstanding  this  unprospered  court- 
ship, he  depended  with  firm  confidence  upon  his  Patron  Saint  ; 
who  in  fact  did  him  such  substantial  service  elsewhere,  that  ere  a 
month  elapsed,  he  had  plr.nted  with  much  pomp  his  devoted  taper 
at  the  friendly  shrine. 

Mother  Brigitta  was  now  fain  to  recall  the  exiled  spinning- 
tackle  from  its  lumber-room,  and  again  set  it  in  action.  All  once 
more  went  its  usual  course.  Meta  soon  bloomed  out  anew,  was 
active  in  business,  and  diligently  went  to  mass ;  but  the  mother 
could  not  hide  her  secret  grudging  at  the  failure  of  her  hopes,  and 
the  annihilation  of  her  darling  plan  ;  she  was  splenetic,  peevish 
and  dejected.  Her  ill-humour  had  especially  the  upper  hand  that 
day  when  neighbour  Hop-King  held  his  nuptials.  As  the  wedding 
company  proceeded  to  the  church,  with  the  town-band  bedrum- 
ming  and  becymballing  them  in  the  van,  she  whimpered  and 
sobbed  as  in  the  evil  hour  when  the  Job's-news  reached  her, 
that  the  wild  sea  had  devoured  her  husband,  with  ship  and  for- 
tune. Meta  looked  at  the  bridal  pomp  with  great  equanimity ; 
even  the  royal  ornaments,  the  jewels  in  the  myrtle-crown,  and 
the  nine  strings  of  true  pearls  about  the  neck  of  the  bride,  made 
no  impression  on  her  peace  of  mind ;  a  circumstance  in  some 
degree  surprising,  since  a  new  Paris  cap,  or  any  other  meteor  in 
the  gallery  of  Mode,  will  so  frequently  derange  the  contentment 
and  domestic  peace  of  an  entire  parish.  Nothing  but  the  heart- 
consuming  sorrow  of  her  mother  discomposed  her,  and  overclouded 
the  gay  look  of  her  eyes ;  she  strove  by  a  thousand  caresses  and 
little  attentions  to  work  herself  into  favour ;  and  she  so  far  suc- 
ceeded that  the  good  lady  grew  a  little  more  communicative. 

In  the  evening,  when  the  redding-dance  began,  she  said, 
"Ah,  child!  this  merry  dance  it  might  have  been  thy  part  to 


20 


lead  off.  What  a  pleasure,  hadst  thou  recompensed  thy  mother's 
care  and  toil  with  this  joy !  But  thou  hast  mocked  thy  happiness, 
and  now  I  shall  never  see  the  day  when  I  am  to  attend  thee  to  the 
altar." — "  Dear  mother,"  answered  Meta,  "  I  confide  in  Heaven; 
and  if  it  is  written  above  that  I  am  to  be  led  to  the  altar,  you 
will  surely  deck  my  garland :  for  when  the  right  wooer  comes, 
my  heart  will  soon  say  Yes." — "  Child,  for  girls  without  dowry 
there  is  no  press  of  wooers ;  they  are  heavy  ware  to  trade  with. 
Nowadays  the  bachelors  are  mighty  stingy ;  they  court  to  be 
happy,  not  to  make  happy.  Besides,  thy  planet  bodes  thee  no 
good ;  thou  wert  born  in  April.  Let  us  see  how  it  is  written  in 
the  Calendar :  '  A  damsel  born  in  this  month  is  comely  of  counte- 
nance, slender  of  shape,  but  of  changeful  humour,  has  a  liking  to 
men.  Should  have  an  eye  upon  her  maiden  garland,  and  so  a 
laughing  wooer  come,  not  miss  her  fortune.'  Alas,  it  answers  to 
a  hair  !  The  wooer  has  been  here,  comes  not  again  :  thou  hast 
missed  him." — "  Ah,  mother !  let  the  planet  say  its  pleasure, 
never  mind  it ;  my  heart  says  to  me  that  I  should  love  and 
honour  the  man  who  asks  me  to  be  his  wife  :  and  if  I  do  not 
find  that  man,  or  he  do  not  seek  me,  I  will  live  in  good  courage 
by  the  labour  of  my  hands,  and  stand  by  you,  and  nurse  you  in 
your  old  age,  as  beseems  a  good  daughter.  But  if  the  man  of 
my  heart  do  come,  then  bless  my  choice,  that  it  may  be  well  with 
your  daughter  on  the  Earth ;  and  ask  not  whether  he  is  noble, 
rich,  or  famous,  but  whether  he  is  good  and  honest,  whether  he 
loves  and  is  loved." — "  Ah,  daughter!  Love  keeps  a  sorry  kitchen, 
and  feeds  one  poorly,  along  with  bread  and  salt." — "  But  yet 
Unity  and  Contentment  delight  to  dwell  with  him,  and  these 
season  bread  and  salt  with  the  cheerful  enjoyment  of  our  days." 

The  pregnant  subject  of  bread  and  salt  continued  to  be  sifted 
till  the  night  was  far  spent,  and  the  last  fiddle  in  the  wedding- 
dance  was  resting  from  its  labours.  The  moderation  of  the  pru- 
dent Meta,  who,  with  youth  and  beauty  on  her  side,  pretended 
only  to  an  altogether  bounded  happiness,  after  having  turned  away 
an  advantageous  offer,  led  the  mother  to  conjecture  that  the  plan 
of  some  such  salt-trade  might  already  have  been  sketched  in  the 
heart  of  the  virgin.  Nor  did  she  fail  to  guess  the  trading-partner 
in  the  lane,  of  whom  she  never  had  believed  that  he  would  be 
the  tree  for  rooting  in  the  lovely  Meta's  heart.  She  had  locked 
upon  him  only  as  a  wild  tendril,  that  stretches  out  towards  every 
neighbouring  twig,  to  clamber  up  by  means  of  it.  This  discovery 


DUMB  LOVE. 


21 


procured  her  little  joy ;  but  she  gave  no  hint  that  she  had  made 
it.  Only,  in  the  spirit  of  her  rigorous  morality,  she  compared  a 
maiden  who  lets  love,  before  the  priestly  benediction,  nestle  in 
her  heart,  to  a  worm-eaten  apple,  which  is  good  for  the  eye,  but 
no  longer  for  the  palate,  and  is  laid  upon  a  shelf  and  no  more 
heeded,  for  the  pernicious  worm  is  eating  its  internal  marrow, 
and  cannot  be  dislodged.  She  now  despaired  of  ever  holding  up 
her  head  again  in  Bremen ;  submitted  to  her  fate,  and  bore  in 
silence  what  she  thought  was  now  not  to  be  altered. 

Meanwhile  the  rumour  of  the  proud  Meta's  having  given  the 
rich  Hop -King  the  basket,  spread  over  the  town,  and  sounded 
even  into  Franz's  garret  in  the  alley.  Franz  was  transported 
with  joy  to  hear  this  tale  confirmed ;  and  the  secret  anxiety  lest 
some  wealthy  rival  might  expel  him  from  the  dear  maiden's  heart 
tormented  him  no  more.  He  was  now  certain  of  his  object ;  and 
the  riddle,  which  for  every  one  continued  an  insoluble  problem, 
had  no  mystery  for  him.  Love  had  already  changed  a  spend- 
thrift into  a  dilettante ;  but  this  for  a  bride-seeker  was  the  very 
smallest  of  recommendations,  a  gift  which  in  those  rude  times 
was  rewarded  neither  with  such  praise  nor  with  such  pudding, 
as  it  is  in  our  luxurious  century.  The  fine  arts  were  not  then 
children  of  superfluity,  but  of  want  and  necessity.  No  travelling 
professors  were  at  that  time  known,  save  the  Prague  students, 
whose  squeaking  symphonies  solicited  a  charitable  coin  at  the 
doors  of  the  rich.  The  beloved  maiden's  sacrifice  was  too  great 
to  be  repaid  by  a  serenade.  And  now  the  feeling  of  his  youthful 
dissipation  became  a  thorn  in  the  soul  of  Franz.  Many  a  touch- 
ing monodrama  did  he  begin  with  an  0  and  an  Ah,  besighing  his 
past  madness :  " Ah,  Meta,"  said  he  to  himself,  "why  did  I  not 
know  thee  sooner !  Thou  hadst  been  my  guardian  angel,  thou 
hadst  saved  me  from  destruction.  Could  I  live  my  lost  years 
over  again,  and  be  what  I  was,  the  world  were  now  Elysium  for 
me,  and  for  thee  I  would  make  it  an  Eden  !  Noble  maiden,  thou 
sacrificest  thyself  to  a  wretch,  to  a  beggar,  who  has  nothing  in 
the  world  but  a  heart  full  of  love,  and  despair  that  he  can  offer 
thee  no  happiness  such  as  thou  deservest."  Innumerable  times, 
in  the  paroxysms  of  these  pathetic  humours,  he  struck  his  brow 
in  fury,  with  the  repentant  exclamation :  "0  fool !  0  madman  ! 
thou  art  wise  too  late." 

Love,  however,  did  not  leave  its  working  incomplete.  It  had 
already  brought  about  a  wholesome  fermentation  in  his  spirit,  a 


22 


MTJSZEUS. 


desire  to  put  in  use  his  powers  and  activity,  to  try  if  he  might 
struggle  up  from  his  present  nothingness  :  it  now  incited  him  to 
the  attempt  of  executing  these  good  purposes.  Among  many 
speculations  he  had  entertained  for  the  recruiting  of  his  wrecked 
finances,  the  most  rational  and  promising  was  this  :  To  run  over 
his  father's  ledgers,  and  there  note  down  any  small  escheats  which 
had  heen  marked  as  lost,  with  a  view  of  going  through  the  land,  „ 
and  gleaning,  if  so  were  that  a  lock  of  wheat  might  still  he 
gathered  from  these  neglected  ears.  With  the  produce  of  this 
enterprise,  he  would  then  commence  some  little  traffic,  which  his 
fancy  soon  extended  over  all  the  quarters  of  the  world.  Already, 
in  his  mind's  eye,  he  had  vessels  on  the  sea,  which  were 
freighted  with  his  property.  He  proceeded  rapidly  to  execute 
his  purpose ;  changed  the  last  golden  fragment  of  his  heritage, 
his  father's  hour-egg,5  into  money,  and  bought  with  it  a  riding 
nag,  which  was  to  bear  him  as  a  Bremen  merchant  out  into  the 
wide  world. 

Yet  the  parting  with  his  fair  Meta  went  sore  against  his 
heart.  "What  will  she  think,"  said  he  to  himself,  "  of  this 
sudden  disappearance,  when  thou  shalt  no  more  meet  her  in  the 
church-way  ?  Will  she  not  regard  thee  as  faithless,  and  banish 
thee  from  her  heart  ?"  This  thought  afflicted  him  exceedingly ; 
and  for  a  great  while  he  could  think  of  no  expedient  for  explain- 
ing to  her  his  intention.  But  at  last  inventive  Love  suggested 
the  idea  of  signifying  to  her  from  the  pulpit  itself  his  absence 
and  its  purpose.  With  this  view,  in  the  church,  which  had  al- 
ready favoured  the  secret  understanding  of  the  lovers,  he  bought 
a  Prayer  "for  a  young  Traveller,  and  the  happy  arrangement  of 
his  affairs ;"  which  was  to  last,  till  he  should  come  again  and 
pay  his  groschen  for  the  Thanksgiving. 

At  the  last  meeting,  he  had  dressed  himself  as  for  the  road  ; 
he  passed  quite  near  his  sweetheart ;  saluted  her  expressively, 
and  with  less  reserve  than  before ;  so  that  she  blushed  deeply ; 
and  Mother  Brigitta  found  opportunity  for  various  marginal  notes, 
which  indicated  her  displeasure  at  the  boldness  of  this  ill-bred 
fop,  in  attempting  to  get  speech  of  her  daughter,  and  with  which 
she  entertained  the  latter  not  in  the  most  pleasant  style  the  live- 
long day.  From  that  morning  Franz  was  no  more  seen  in  Bre- 
men, and  the  finest  pair  of  eyes  within  its  circuit  sought  for  him 
in  vain.    Meta  often  heard  the  Prayer  read,  but  she  did  not  heed 

e  The  oldest  watches,  from  the  shape  they  had,  were  named  hour-eggs. 


t 


DUMB  LOVE. 


23 


it,  for  her  heart  was  troubled  because  her  lover  had  become  in- 
visible. This  disappearance  was  inexplicable  to  her ;  she  knew 
not  what  to  think  of  it.  After  the  lapse  of  some  months,  when 
time  had  a  little  softened  her  secret  care,  and  she  was  suffering 
his  absence  with  a  calmer  mind,  it  happened  once,  as  the  last 
appearance  of  her  love  was  hovering  upon  her  fancy,  that  this 
same  Prayer  struck  her  as  a  strange  matter.  She  coupled  one 
thing  with  another,  she  guessed  the  true  connexion  of  the 
business,  and  the  meaning  of  that  notice.  And  although  church 
litanies  and  special  prayers  have  not  the  reputation  of  extreme 
potency,  and  for  the  worthy  souls  that  lean  on  them  are  but  a 
supple  staff,  inasmuch  as  the  fire  of  devotion  in  the  Christian  flock 
is  wont  to  die  out  at  the  end  of  the  sermon ;  yet  in  the  pious 
Meta's  case,  the  reading  of  the  last  Prayer  was  the  very  thing 
which  fanned  that  fire  into  a  flame ;  and  she  never  neglected, 
with  her  whole  heart,  to  recommend  the  young  traveller  to  his 
guardian  angel. 

Under  this  invisible  guidance,  Franz  was  journeying  towards 
Brabant,  to  call  in  some  considerable  sums  that  were  due  him  at 
Antwerp.  A  journey  from  Bremen  to  Antwerp,  in  the  time  when 
road-blockades  were  still  in  fashion,  and  every  landlord  thought 
himself  entitled  to  plunder  any  traveller  who  had  purchased  no 
safe-conduct,  and  to  leave  him  pining  in  the  ward-room  of  his 
tower,  was  an  undertaking  of  more  peril  and  difficulty,  than  in  our 
days  would  attend  a  journey  from  Bremen  to  Kamtschatka :  for 
the  Land-fried  (or  Act  for  suppressing  Private  Wars),  which  the 
Emperor  Maximilian  had  proclaimed,  was  in  force  through  the 
Empire,  rather  as  a  law  than  an  observance.  Nevertheless  our 
solitary  traveller  succeeded  in  arriving  at  the  goal  of  his  pilgrim- 
age, without  encountering  more  than  a  single  adventure. 

Far  in  the  wastes  of  Westphalia,  he  rode  one  sultry  day  till 
nightfall,  without  reaching  any  inn.  Towards  evening  stormy 
clouds  towered  up  at  the  horizon,  and  a  heavy  rain  wetted  him  to 
the  skin.  To  the  fondling,  who  from  his  youth  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  all  possible  conveniences,  this  was  a  heavy  matter,  and 
he  felt  himself  in  great  embarrassment  how  in  this  condition  he 
should  pass  the  night.  To  his  comfort,  when  the  tempest  had 
moved  away,  he  saw  a  light  in  the  distance ;  and  soon  after, 
reached  a  mean  peasant  hovel,  which  afforded  him  but  little  con- 
solation. The  house  was  more  like  a  cattlo-stall  than  a  human 
habitation ;  and  the  unfriendly  landlord  refused  him  fire  and  water, 


24 


MUS.EUS. 


as  if  he  had  been  an  outlaw.  For  the  man  was  just  about  to 
stretch  himself  upon  the  straw  among  his  steers  ;  and  too  tired  to 
relight  the  fire  on  his  hearth,  for  the  sake  of  a  stranger.  Franz 
in  his  despondency  uplifted  a  mournful  miserere,  and  cursed  the 
Westphalian  steppes  with  strong  maledictions :  but  the  peasant 
took  it  all  in  good  part ;  and  blew  out  his  light  with  great  com- 
posure, troubling  himself  no  farther  about  the  stranger  ;  for  in  the 
laws  of  hospitality  he  was  altogether  uninstructed.  But  as  the 
wayfarer,  standing  at  the  door,  would  not  cease  to  annoy  him 
with  his  lamentations,  he  endeavoured  in  a  civil  way  to  get  rid  of 
him,  consented  to  answer,  and  said  :  ' '  Master,  if  you  want  good 
entertainment,  and  would  treat  yourself  handsomely,  you  could 
not  find  what  you  are  seeking  here.  But  ride  there  to  the  left 
hand,  through  the  bushes  ;  a  little  way  behind,  lies  the  Castle  of 
the  valiant  Eberhard  Bronkhorst,  a  knight  who  lodges  every  tra- 
veller, as  a  Hospitaller  does  the  pilgrims  from  the  Holy  Sepulchre. 
He  has  just  one  maggot  in  his  head,  which  sometimes  twitches 
and  vexes  him ;  he  lets  no  traveller  depart  from  him  unbasted. 
If  you  do  not  lose  your  way,  though  he  may  dust  your  jacket,  you 
will  like  your  cheer  prodigiously." 

To  buy  a  mess  of  pottage,  and  a  stoup  of  wine,  by  surrender- 
ing one's  ribs  to  the  bastinado,  is  in  truth  no  job  for  every  man, 
though  your  spungers  and  plate-lickers  let  themselves  be  tweaked 
and  snubbed,  and  from  rich  artists  willingly  endure  all  kinds  of 
tar-and-feathering,  so  their  palates  be  but  tickled  for  the  service. 
Franz  considered  for  a  while,  and  was  undetermined  what  to  do ; 
at  last  he  resolved  on  fronting  the  adventure.  "What  is  it  to 
me,"  said  he,  "whether  my  back  be  broken  here  on  miserable 
straw,  or  by  the  Kitter  Bronkhorst  ?  The  friction  will  expel  the 
fever  which  is  coming  on,  and  shake  me  tightly  if  I  cannot  dry 
my  clothes."  He  put  spurs  to  his  nag,  and  soon  arrived  before  a 
c  .stle-gate  of  old  Gothic  architecture ;  knocked  pretty  plainly  on 
the  iron  door,  and  an  equally  distinct  "  Who's  there?"  resounded 
from  within.  To  the  freezing  passenger,  the  long  entrance  cere- 
monial of  this  door-keeper  precognition  was  as  inconvenient,  as 
are  similar  delays  to  travellers  who,  at  barriers  and  gates  of  towns, 
bewail  or  execrate  the  despotism  of  guards  and  tollmen.  Never- 
theless he  must  submit  to  use  and  wont,  and  patiently  wait  to  see 
whether  the  philanthropist  in  the  Castle  was  disposed  that  night 
for  cudgelling  a  guest,  or  would  choose  rather  to  assign  him  a 
couch  under  the  open  canopy. 


DUMB  LOVE. 


25 


The  possessor  of  this  ancient  tower  had  served,  in  his  youth, 
as  a  stout  soldier  in  the  Emperor's  army,  under  the  hold  Georg 
von  Fronsberg,  and  led  a  troop  of  foot  against  the  Venetians ;  had 
afterwards  retired  to  repose,  and  was  now  living  on  his  property; 
where,  to  expiate  the  sins  of  his  campaigns,  he  employed  himself 
in  doing  good  works  ;  in  feeding  the  hungry,  giving  drink  to  the 
thirsty,  lodging  pilgrims,  and  cudgelling  his  lodgers  out  of  doors. 
For  he  was  a  rude  wild  son  of  war  ;  and  could  not  lay  aside  his 
martial  tone,  though  he  had  lived  for  many  years  in  silent  peace. 
The  traveller,  who  had  now  determined  for  good  quarters  to  sub- 
mit to  the  custom  of  the  house,  had  not  waited  long  till  the  bolts 
and  locks  began  rattling  within,  and  the  creaking  gate-leaves 
moved  asunder,  moaning  in  doleful  notes,  as  if  to  warn  or  to  de- 
plore the  entering  stranger.  Franz  felt  one  cold  shudder  after 
the  other  running  down  his  back,  as  he  passed  in  ;  nevertheless 
he  was  handsomely  received  ;  some  servants  hastened  to  assist 
him  in  dismounting  ;  speedily  unbuckled  his  luggage,  took  his 
steed  to  the  stable,  and  its  rider  to  a  large  well-lighted  chamber, 
where  their  master  was  in  waiting. 

The  warlike  aspect  of  this  athletic  gentleman, — who  advanced 
to  meet  his  guest,  and  shook  him  by  the  hand  so  heartily,  that  he 
was  like  to  shout  with  pain,  and  bade  him  welcome  with  a  Sten- 
tor's  voice,  as  if  the  stranger  had  been  deaf,  and  seemed  withal 
to  be  a  person  still  in  the  vigour  of  life,  full  of  fire  and  strength, 
— put  the  timorous  wanderer  into  such  a  terror,  that  he  could  not 
hide  his  apprehensions,  and  began  to  tremble  over  all  his  body. 

"  What  ails  you,  my  young  master,"  asked  the  Hitter,  with 
a  voice  of  thunder,  ' '  that  you  quiver  like  an  aspen-leaf,  and  look 
as  pale  as  if  Death  had  you  by  the  throat  ?" 

Franz  plucked  up  a  spirit ;  and  considering  that  his  shoulders 
had  at  all  events  the  score  to  pay,  his  poltroonery  passed  into  a 
species  of  audacity.  <; 

"  Sir,"  replied  he,  "  you  perceive  that  the  rain  has  soaked 
me,  as  if  I  had  swum  across  the  Weser.  Let  me  have  my  clothes 
dried  or  changed  ;  and  get  me,  by  way  of  luncheon,  a  well-spiced 
aleberry,  to  drive  away  the  ague-fit  that  is  quaking  through  my 
nerves  ;  then  I  shall  come  to  heart,  in  some  degree." 

"  Good  !"  replied  the  Knight ;  "  demand  what  you  want ; 
you  are  at  home  here." 

Franz  made  himself  be  served  like  a  bashaw ;  and  having 
nothing  else  but  currying  to  expect,  he  determined  to  deserve  it ; 


26 


MUS^US. 


he  bantered  and  bullied,  in  his  most  imperious  style,  the  servants 
that  were  waiting  on  him  ;  it  comes  all  to  one,  thought  he,  in  the 
long-run.  "  This  waistcoat,"  said  he,  "  would  go  round  a  tun  ; 
bring  me  one  that  fits  a  little  better  :  this  slipper  burns  like  a 
coal  against  my  corns  ;  pitch  it  over  the  lists  :  this  ruff  is  stiff 
as  a  plank,  and  throttles  me  like  a  halter ;  bring  one  that  is 
easier,  and  is  not  plastered  with  starch." 

At  this  Bremish  frankness,  the  landlord,  far  from  showing 
any  anger,  kept  inciting  his  servants  to  go  briskly  through  with 
their  commands,  and  calling  them  a  pack  of  blockheads,  who  were 
fit  to  serve  no  stranger.  The  table  being  furnished,  the  Hitter 
and  his  guest  sat  down  to  it,  and  both  heartily  enjoyed  their  ale- 
berry.  The  Hitter  asked  :  "  Would  you  have  aught  farther,  by 
way  of  supper  ?" 

"  Bring  us  what  you  have,"  said  Franz,  "  that  I  may  see 
how  your  kitchen  is  provided." 

Immediately  appeared  the  Cook,  and  placed  upon  the  table  a 
repast  with  which  a  duke  might  have  been  satisfied.  Franz  dili- 
gently fell  to,  without  waiting  to  be  pressed.  When  he  had  satis- 
fied himself :  "  Your  kitchen,"  said  he,  "  is  not  ill-furnished,  I 
perceive  ;  if  your  cellar  corresponds  to  it,  I  shall  almost  praise 
your  housekeeping." 

Bronkhorst  nodded  to  his  Butler,  who  directly  filled  the  cup 
of  welcome  with  common  table  wine,  tasted,  and  presented  it  to 
his  master,  and  the  latter  cleared  it  at  a  draught  to  the  health  of 
his  guest.  Franz  pledged  him  honestly,  and  Bronkhorst  asked  : 
"  Now,  fair  sir,  what  say  you  to  the  wine  ?" 

"  I  say,"  answered  Franz,  "  that  it  is  bad,  if  it  is  the 
best  sort  in  your  catacombs ;  and  good,  if  it  is  your  meanest 
number." 

"  You  are  a  judge,"  replied  the  Bitter :  "  Here,  Butler,  bring 
us  of  the  mother-cask." 

The  Butler  put  a  stoup  upon  the  table,  as  a  sample,  and  Franz 
having  tasted  it,  said,  "  Ay,  this  is  genuine  last  year's  growth  ; 
we  will  stick  by  this." 

The  Bitter  made  a  vast  pitcher  of  it  be  brought  in  ;  soon 
drank  himself  into  hilarity  and  glee  beside  his  guest ;  began  to 
talk  of  his  campaigns,  how  he  had  been  encamped  against  the 
Venetians,  had  broken  through  their  barricado,  and  butchered  the 
Italian  squadrons,  like  a  flock  of  sheep.  In  this  narrative  he  rose 
into  such  a  warlike  enthusiasm,  that  he  hewed  down  bottles  and 


DUMB  LOVE. 


27 


glasses,  brandishing  the  carving-knife  like  a  lance,  and  in  the  fire 
of  action  came  so  near  his  messmate  with  it,  that  the  latter  was 
in  fright  for  his  nose  and  ears. 

It  grew  late,  but  no  sleep  came  into  the  eyes  of  the  Bitter ; 
he  seemed  to  be  in  his  proper  element,  when  he  got  to  speak  of 
his  Venetian  campaigns.  The  vivacity  of  his  narration  increased 
with  every  cup  he  emptied ;  and  Franz  was  afraid  that  this  would 
prove  the  prologue  to  the  melodrama,  in  which  he  himself  was  to 
play  the  most  interesting  part.  To  learn  whether  it  was  meant 
that  he  should  lodge  within  the  Castle,  or  without,  he  demanded 
a  bumper  by  way  of  good-night.  Now,  he  thought,  hi*;  host  would 
first  force  him  to  drink  more  wine,  and  if  he  refused,  would,  under 
pretext  of  a  drinking  quarrel,  send  him  forth,  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  house,  with  the  usual  viaticum.  Contrary  to  his 
expectation,  the  request  was  granted  without  remonstrance ;  the 
Hitter  instantly  cut  asunder  the  thread  of  his  narrative,  and  said : 
"  Time  will  wait  on  no  one ;  more  of  it  tomorrow  !" 

"Pardon  me,  Herr  Bitter,"  answered  Franz,  "tomorrow  by 
sunrise  I  must  over  hill  and  dale ;  I  am  travelling  a  far  journey  to 
Brabant,  and  must  not  linger  here.  So  let  me  take  leave  of  you 
tonight,  that  my  departure  may  not  disturb  you  in  the  morning." 

"  Do  your  pleasure,"  said  the  Bitter ;  "  but  depart  from  this 
you  shall  not,  till  I  am  out  of  the  feathers,  to  refresh  you  with  a 
bit  of  bread,  and  a  toothful  of  Dantzig,  then  attend  you  to  the 
door,  and  dismiss  you  according  to  the  fashion  of  the  house." 

Franz  needed  no  interpretation  of  these  words.  Willingly 
as  he  would  have  excused  his  host  this  last  civility,  attendance 
to  the  door,  the  latter  seemed  determined  to  abate  no  whit  of 
the  established  ritual.  He  ordered  his  servants  to  undress  the 
stranger,  and  put  him  in  the  guest's-bed ;  where  Franz,  once 
settled  on  elastic  swan's  down,  felt  himself  extremely  snug,  and 
enjoyed  delicious  rest ;  so  that  ere  he  fell  asleep,  he  owned  to 
himself  that,  for  such  royal  treatment,  a  moderate  bastinado  was 
not  too  dear  a  price.  Soon  pleasant  dreams,  came  hovering  round 
his  fancy.  He  found  his  charming  Meta  in  a  rosy  grove,  where 
she  was  walking  with  her  mother,  plucking  flowers.  Instantly  he 
hid  himself  behind  a  thick-leaved  hedge,  that  the  rigorous  duenna 
might  not  see  him.  Again  his  imagination  placed  him  in  the 
alley,  and  by  his  looking-glass  he  saw  the  snow-white  hand  oi 
the  maiden  busied  with  her  flowers  ;  soon  he  was  sitting  with  her 
on  the  grass,  and  longing  to  declare  his  heartfelt  love  to  her,  and 


28 


MUS^lUS. 


the  bashful  shepherd  found  no  words  to  do  it  in.  He  would  have 
dreamed  till  broad  mid-day,  had  he  not  been  roused  by  the  son- 
orous voice  and  clanking  spurs  of  the  Kitter,  who,  with  the  earliest 
dawn,  was  holding  a  review  of  kitchen  and  cellar,  ordering  a 
sufficient  breakfast  to  be  readied,  and  placing  every  servant  at 
his  post,  to  be  at  hand  when  the  guest  should  awake,  to  dress 
him,  and  wait  upon  him. 

It  cost  the  happy  dreamer  no  small  struggling  to  forsake  his 
safe  and  hospitable  bed.  He  rolled  to  this  side  and  to  that ;  but 
the  pealing  voice  of  the  worshipful  Knight  came  heavy  on  his 
heart ;  and  dally  as  he  might,  the  sour  apple  must  at  last  be  bit. 
So  he  rose  from  his  down ;  and  immediately  a  dozen  hands  were 
busy  dressing  him.  The  Kitter  led  him  into  the  parlour,  where  a 
small  well-furnished  table  waited  them ;  but  now,  when  the  hour 
of  reckoning  had  arrived,  the  traveller's  appetite  was  gone.  The 
host  endeavoured  to  encourage  him.  "  "Why  do  you  not  get  to  ? 
Come,  take  somewhat  for  the  raw  foggy  morning." 

"Herr  Kitter,"  answered  Franz,  "my  stomach  is  still  too 
full  of  your  supper ;  but  my  pockets  are  empty ;  these  I  may  fill 
for  the  hunger  that  is  to  come." 

With  this  he  began  stoutly  cramming,  and  stowed  himself 
with  the  daintiest  and  best  that  was  transportable,  till  all  his 
pockets  were  bursting.  Then,  observing  that  his  horse,  well 
curried  and  equipt,  was  led  past,  he  took  a  dram  of  Dantzig  for 
good-b'ye,  in  the  thought  that  this  would  be  the  watch-word  for 
his  host  to  catch  him  by  the  neck,  and  exercise  his  household 
privileges. 

But,  to  his  astonishment,  the  Kitter  shook  him  kindly  by  the 
hand,  as  at  his  first  entrance,  wished  him  luck  by  the  way,  and 
the  bolted  door  was  thrown  open.  He  loitered  not  in  putting 
spurs  to  his  nag ;  and,  tip  !  tap !  he  was  without  the  gate,  and 
no  hair  of  him  harmed. 

A  heavy  stone  was  lifted  from  his  heart  as  he  found  himself 
in  safety,  and  saw  that  he  had  got  away  with  a  whole  skin.  He 
could  not  understand  how  the  landlord  had  trusted  him  the  shot, 
which,  as  he  imagined,  must  have  run  pretty  high  on  the  chalk ; 
and  he  embraced  with  warm  love  the  hospitable  man,  whose  club- 
law  arm  he  had  so  much  dreaded ;  and  he  felt  a  strong  desire  to 
search  out,  at  the  fountain-head,  the  reason  or  unreason  of  the 
ill  report  which  had  affrighted  him.  Accordingly  he  turned  his 
horse,  and  cantered  back.    The  Knight  was  still  standing  in  the 


DUMB  LOVE. 


29 


gate,  and  descanting  with  his  servants,  for  the  forwarding  of  the 
science  of  horse-flesh,  on  the  breed,  shape  and  character  of  the 
nag,  and  his  hard  pace  :  he  supposed  the  stranger  must  have 
missed  something  in  his  travelling  gear,  and  he  already  looked 
askance  at  his  servants  for  such  negligence 

"  What  is  it,  young  master,"  cried  he,  .,,  that  makes  you  turn 
again,  when  you  were  for  proceeding  ?" 

"  Ah  !  yet  a  word,  valiant  Knight,"  cried  the  traveller.  "  An 
ill  report  has  gone  abroad,  that  injures  your  name  and  breeding. 
It  is  said  that  you  treat  every  stranger  that  calls  upon  you  with 
your  best ;  and  then,  when  he  leaves  you,  let  him  feel  the  weight 
of  your  strong  fists.  This  story  I  have  credited,  and  spared  no- 
thing to  deserve  my  due  from  you.  I  thought  within  myself,  His 
worship  will  abate  me  nothing ;  I  will  abate  him  as  little.  But 
now  you  let  me  go,  without  strife  or  peril;  and  that  is  what  sur- 
prises me.  Pray  tell  me,  is  there  any  shadow  of  foundation  for 
the  thing;  or  shall  I  call  the  foolish  chatter  lies  next  time  I 
hear  it  ?" 

The  Bitter  answered:  "Report  has  nowise  told  you  lies; 
there  is  no  saying  that  circulates  among  the  people  but  contains 
in  it  some  grain  of  truth.  Let  me  tell  you  accurately  how  the 
matter  stands.  I  lodge  every  stranger  that  comes  beneath  my 
roof,  and  divide  my  morsel  with  him,  for  the  love  of  God.  But 
I  am  a  plain  German  man,  of  the  old  cut  and  fashion ;  speak  as 
it  lies  about  my  heart,  and  require  that  my  guest  also  should  be 
hearty  and  confiding ;  should  enjoy  with  me  what  I  have,  and 
tell  frankly  what  he  wants.  Now,  there  is  a  sort  of  people  that 
vex  me  with  all  manner  of  grimaces;  that  banter  me  with  smirk  - 
ings,  and  bows,  and  crouchings ;  put  all  their  words  to  the  tor- 
ture ;  make  a  deal  of  talk  without  sense  or  salt ;  think  they  will 
cozen  me  with  smooth  speeches ;  behave  at  dinner  as  women  at 
a  christening.  If  I  say,  Help  yourself !  out  of  reverence,  they 
pick  you  a  fraction  from  the  plate  which  I  would  not  offer  to  my 
dog  :  if  I  say,  Your  health  !  they  scarcely  wet  their  lips  from  the 
full  cup,  as  if  they  set  God's  gifts  at  naught.  Now,  when  the 
sorry  rabble  carry  things  too  far  with  me,  and  I  cannot,  for  the 
soul  of  me,  know  what  they  would  be  at,  I  get  into  a  rage  at 
last,  and  use  my  household  privilege ;  catch  the  noodle  by  the 
spall,  thrash  him  sufficiently,  and  pack  him  out  of  doors.  This 
is  the  use  and  wont  with  me,  and  I  do  so  with  every  guest  that 
plagues  me  with  these  freaks.    But  a  man  of  your  stamp  is  al- 


30 


MUS^US. 


ways  welcome :  you  told  me  plump  out  in  plain  German  what 
you  thought,  as  is  the  fashion  with  the  Bremers.  Call  on  me 
boldly  again,  if  your  road  lead  you  hither.  And  so,  God  be 
with  you." 

Franz  now  moved  on,  with  a  joyful  humour,  towards  Antwerp ; 
and  he  wished  that  he  might  everywhere  find  such  a  reception  as 
he  had  met  with  from  the  Hitter  Eberhard  Bronkhorst.  On  ap- 
proaching the  ancient  queen  of  the  Flemish  cities,  the  sail  of  his 
hope  was  swelled  by  a  propitious  breeze.  Riches  and  superfluity 
met  him  in  every  street ;  and  it  seemed  as  if  scarcity  and  want 
had  been  exiled  from  the  busy  town.  In  all  probability,  thought 
he,  there  must  be  many  of  my  father's  debtors  who  have  risen 
again,  and  will  gladly  make  me  full  payment  whenever  I  sub- 
stantiate my  claims.  After  resting  for  a  while  from  his  fatigues, 
he  set  about  obtaining,  in  the  inn  where  he  was  quartered,  some 
preliminary  knowledge  of  the  situation  of  his  debtors. 

"How  stands  it  with  Peter  Martens?"  inquired  he  one  day 
of  his  companions  at  table;  "is  he  still  living,  and  doing  much 
business  ?" 

"  Peter  Martens  is  a  warm  man,"  answered  one  of  the  party ; 
"  has  a  brisk  commission  trade,  and  draws  good  profit  from  it." 

"  Is  Fabian  van  Pliirs  still  in  good  circumstances  ?" 

"  0  !  there  is  no  end  to  Fabian's  wealth.  He  is  a  Coun- 
cillor; his  woollen  manufactories  are  thriving  incredibly." 

"  Has  Jonathan  Frischkier  good  custom  in  his  trade  ?" 

"  Ah !  Jonathan  were  now  a  brisk  fellow,  had  not  Kaiser 
Max  let  the  French  chouse  him  out  of  his  Princess.6  Jonathan 
had  got  the  furnishing  of  the  lace  for  the  bride's  dress ;  but  the 
Kaiser  has  left  poor  Frischkier  in  the  lurch,  as  the  bride  has  left 
himself.  If  you  have  a  fair  one,  whom  you  would  remember 
with  a  bit  of  lace,  he  will  give  it  you  at  half-price." 

"  Is  the  firm  Op  de  Biitekant  still  standing,  or  has  it  sunk  ?" 

"  There  was  a  crack  in  the  beams  there  some  years  ago;  but 
the  Spanish  caravelles  have  put  a  new  prop  to  it,  and  it  now 
holds  fast." 

Franz  inquired  about  several  other  merchants  who  were  on 
his  list ;  found  that  most  of  them,  though  in  his  father's  time 
they  had  "failed,"  were  now  standing  firmly  on  their  legs;  and 
inferred  from  this,  that  a  judicious  bankruptcy  has,  from  of  old, 
been  the  mine  of  future  gains.    This  intelligence  refreshed  him 

•  Anne  of  Brittany, 


DUMB  LOVE. 


31 


mightily :  he  hastened  to  put  his  documents  in  order,  and  sub- 
mit them  to  the  proper  parties.  But  with  the  Antwerpers,  he 
fared  as  his  itinerating  countrymen  do  with  shopkeepers  in  the 
German  towns  :  they  find  everywhere  a  friendly  welcome  at  their 
first  appearance,  but  are  looked  upon  with  cheerfulness  nowhere 
when  they  come  collecting  debts.  Some  would  have  nothing  to 
do  with  these  former  sins ;  and  were  of  opinion,  that  by  the  ten- 
der of  the  legal  five-per-cent  composition  they  had  been  entirely 
abolished:  it  was  the  creditor's  fault  if  he  had  not  accepted 
payment  in  time.  Others  could  not  recollect  any  Melchior  of 
Bremen ;  opened  their  Infallible  Books ;  found  no  debtor-entry 
marked  for  this  unknown  name.  Others,  again,  brought  out  a 
strong  counter  -  reckoning ;  and  three  days  had  not  passed  till 
Franz  was  sitting  in  the  Debtors'  Ward,  to  answer  for  his  father's 
credit,  not  to  depart  till  he  had  paid  the  uttermost  farthing. 

These  were  not  the  best  prospects  for  the  young  man,  who 
had  set  his  hope  and  trust  upon  the  Antwerp  patrons  of  his  for- 
tune, and  now  saw  the  fair  soap-bubble  vanish  quite  away.  In 
his  strait  confinement,  he  felt  himself  in  the  condition  of  a  soul 
in  Purgatory,  now  that  his  skiff  had  run  ashore  and  gone  to 
pieces,  in  the  middle  of  the  haven  where  he  thought  to  find 
security.  Every  thought  of  Meta  was  as  a  thorn  in  his  heart ; 
there  was  now  no  shadow  of  a  possibility,  that  from  the  whirl- 
pool which  had  sunk  him,  he  could  ever  rise,  and  stretch  out  his 
hand  to  her ;  nor,  suppose  he  should  get  his  head  above  water, 
was  it  in  poor  Meta's  power  to  pull  him  on  dry  land.  He  fell 
into  a  sullen  desperation ;  had  no  wish  but  to  die  speedily,  and 
give  his  woes  the  slip  at  once ;  and,  in  fact,  he  did  attempt  to 
kill  himself  by  starvation.  But  this  is  a  sort  of  death  which  is 
not  at  the  beck  of  every  one,  so  ready  as  the  shrunk  Pomponius 
Atticus  found  it,  when  his  digestive  apparatus  had  already  struck 
work.  A  sound  peptic  stomach  does  not  yield  so  tamely  to 
the  precepts  of  the  head  or  heart.  After  the  moribund  debtor 
had  abstained  two  days  from  food,  a  ravenous  hunger  suddenly 
usurped  the  government  of  his  will,  and  performed,  of  its  own 
authority,  all  the  operations  which,  in  other  cases,  are  directed 
by  the  mind.  It  ordered  his  hand  to  seize  the  spoon,  his  mouth 
to  receive  the  victual,  his  inferior  maxillary  jaw  to  get  in  motion, 
and  itself  accomplished  the  usual  functions  of  digestion,  unor- 
dered. Thus  did  this  last  resolve  make  shipwreck,  on  a  hard 
bread-crust ;  for,  in  the  seven-and-twentieth  year  of  life,  it  has  a 


82 


MUS^US. 


heroism  connected  with  it,  which  in  the  seven-and-seventieth  is 
entirely  gone. 

At  bottom,  it  was  not  the  object  of  the  barbarous  Antwerpers 
to  squeeze  money  from  the  pretended  debtor,  but  only  to  pay  him 
none,  as  his  demands  were  not  admitted  to  be  liquid.  Whether  it 
were,  then,  that  the  public  Prayer  in  Bremen  had  in  truth  a  little 
virtue,  or  that  the  supposed  creditors  were  not  desirous  of  sup- 
porting a  superfluous  boarder  for  life,  true  it  is,  that  after  the 
lapse  of  three  months  Franz  was  delivered  from  his  imprison- 
ment, under  the  condition  of  leaving  the  city  within  four-and- 
twenty  hours,  and  never  again  setting  foot  on  the  soil  and  ter- 
ritory of  Antwerp.  At  the  same  time,  he  received  five  crowns 
for  travelling  expenses  from  the  faithful  hands  of  Justice,  which 
had  taken  charge  of  his  horse  and  luggage,  and  conscientiously 
balanced  the  produce  of  the  same  against  judicial  and  curatory 
expenses. 

With  heavy-laden  heart,  in  the  humblest  mood,  with  his  staff 
in  his  hand,  he  left  the  rich  city,  into  which  he  had  ridden  some 
time  ago  with  high-soaring  hopes.  Broken  down,  and  unde- 
termined what  to  do,  or  rather  altogether  without  thought,  he 
plodded  through  the  streets  to  the  nearest  gate,  not  minding 
whither  the  road  into  which  chance  conducted  him  might  lead. 
He  saluted  no  traveller,  he  asked  for  no  inn,  except  when  fatigue 
or  hunger  forced  him  to  lift  up  his  eyes,  and  look  around  for  some 
church- spire,  or  sign  of  human  habitation,  when  he  needed 
human  aid.  Many  days  he  had  wandered  on,  as  if  unconsciously; 
and  a  secret  instinct  had  still,  by  means  of  his  uncrazed  feet,  led 
him  right  forward  on  the  way  to  home;  when,  all  at  once,  he 
awoke  as  from  an  oppressive  dream,  and  perceived  on  what  road 
he  was  travelling. 

He  halted  instantly,  to  consider  whether  he  should  proceed 
or  turn  back.  Shame  and  confusion  took  possession  of  his  soul, 
when  he  thought  of  skulking  about  in  his  native  town  as  a  beggar, 
branded  with  the  mark  of  contempt,  and  claiming  the  charitable 
help  of  his  townsmen,  whom  of  old  he  had  eclipsed  by  his  wealth 
and  magnificence.  And  how  in  this  form  could  he  present  himself 
before  his  fair  Meta,  without  disgracing  the  choice  of  her  heart  ? 
He  did  not  leave  his  fancy  time  to  finish  this  doleful  picture ; 
but  wheeled  about  to  take  the  other  road,  as  hastily  as  if  he  had 
been  standing  even  then  at  the  gate  of  Bremen,  and  the  ragged 
apprentices  had  been  assembling  to  accompany  him  with  jibes  and 


DTJMB  LOVE. 


33 


mockery  through  the  streets.  His  purpose  was  formed:  he  would 
make  for  the  nearest  seaport  in  the  Netherlands ;  engage  as  sailor 
in  a  Spanish  ship,  to  work  his  passage  to  the  new  world;  and  not 
return  to  his  country,  till  in  the  Peruvian  land  of  gold  he  should 
have  regained  the  wealth,  which  he  had  squandered  so  heedlessly, 
before  he  knew  the  worth  of  money.  In  the  shaping  of  this  new 
plan,  it  is  true,  the  fair  Meta  fell  so  far  into  the  background,  that 
even  to  the  sharpest  prophetic  eye  she  could  only  hover  as  a  faint 
shadow  in  the  distance;  yet  the  wandering  projector  pleased  him- 
self with  thinking  that  she  was.  again  interwoven  with  the  scheme 
of  his  life ;  and  he  took  large  steps,  as  if  by  this  rapidity  he  meant 
to  reach  her  so  much  the  sooner. 

Already  he  was  on  the  Flemish  soil  once  more ;  and  found  him- 
self at  sunset  not  far  from  Rheinberg,  in  a  little  hamlet,  Rumm els- 
burg  by  name,  which  has  since,  in  the  Thirty-Years  War,  been 
utterly  destroyed.  A  caravan  of  carriers  from  Lyke  had  already 
filled  the  inn,  so  that  Mine  Host  had  no  room  left,  and  referred 
him  to  the  next  town;  the  rather  that  he  did  not  draw  too  flatter- 
ing a  presage  from  his  present  vagabond  physiognomy,  and  held 
him  to  be  a  thieves'  purveyor,  who  had  views  upon  the  Lyke  car- 
riers. He  was  forced,  notwithstanding  his  excessive  weariness, 
to  gird  himself  for  march,  and  again  to  take  his  bundle  on  his 
back. 

As  in  retiring,  he  was  muttering  between  his  teeth  some  bitter 
complaints  and  curses  of  the  Landlord's  hardness  of  heart,  the 
latter  seemed  to  take  some  pity  on  the  forlorn  wayfarer,  and  called 
after  him,  from  the  door:  "Stay,  neighbour,  let  me  speak  to  you: 
if  you  wish  to  rest  here,  I  can  accommodate  you  after  all.  In  that 
Castle  there  are  empty  rooms  enow,  if  they  be  not  too  lonely ;  it 
is  not  inhabited,  and  I  have  got  the  keys."  Franz  accepted  the 
proposal  with  joy,  praised  it  as  a  deed  of  mercy,  and  requested 
only  shelter  and  a  supper,  were  it  in  a  castle  or  a  cottage.  Mine 
Host,  however,  was  privily  a  rogue,  whom  it  had  galled  to  hear 
the  stranger  drop  some  half-audible  contumelies  against  him,  and 
meant  to  be  avenged  on  him,  by  a  Hobgoblin  that  inhabited 
the  old  fortress,  and  had  many  long  years  before  expelled  the 
owners. 

The  Castle  lay  hard  by  the  hamlet,  on  a  steep  rock,  right 
opposite  the  inn,  from  which  it  was  divided  merely  by  the  high- 
way, and  a  little  gurgling  brook.  The  situation  being  so  agree- 
able, the  edifice  was  still  kept  in  repair,  and  well  provided  with 

VOL.  III.  D 


34 


MUS^US* 


all  sorts  of  house-gear  ;  for  it  served  the  Owner  as  a  hunting- 
lodge,  where  he  frequently  caroused  all  day ;  and  so  soon  as  the 
stars  began  to  twinkle  in  the  sky,  retired  with  his  whole  retinue, 
to  escape  the  mischief  of  the  Ghost,  who  rioted  about  in  it  the 
whole  night  over,  but  by  day  gave  no  disturbance.  Unpleasant 
as  the  owner  felt  this  spoiling  of  his  mansion  by  a  bugbear,  the 
nocturnal  sprite  was  not  without  advantages,  for  the  great  security 
it  gave  from  thieves,  The  Count  could  have  appointed  no  trustier 
or  more  watchful  keeper  over  the  Castle,  than  this  same  Spectre, 
for  the  rashest  troop  of  robbers  never  ventured  to  approach  its 
station.  Accordingly  he  knew  of  no  safer  place  for  laying  up  his 
valuables,  than  this  old  tower,  in  the  hamlet  of  Rummelsburg, 
near  Rheinberg. 

The  sunshine  had  sunk,  the  dark  night  was  coming  heavily 
on,  when  Franz,  with  a  lantern  in  his  hand,  proceeded  to  the 
castle-gate,  under  the  guidance  of  Mine  Host,  who  carried  in  his 
hand  a  basket  of  victuals,  with  a  flask  of  wine,  which  he  said  should 
not  be  marked  against  him.  He  had  also  taken  along  with  him  a 
pair  of  candlesticks,  and  two  wax-lights ;  for  in  the  whole  Castle 
there  was  neither  lamp  nor  taper,  as  no  one  ever  stayed  in  it  after 
twilight.  In  the  way,  Franz  noticed  the  creaking  heavy-laden 
basket,  and  the  wax-lights,  which  he  thought  he  should  not  need, 
and  yet  must  pay  for.  Therefore  he  said  :  ' '  What  is  this  super- 
fluity and  waste,  as  at  a  banquet  ?  The  light  in  the  lantern  is 
enough  to  see  with,  till  I  go  to  bed ;  and  when  I  awake,  the  sun 
will  be  high  enough,  for  I  am  tired  completely,  and  shall  sleep 
with  both  eyes." 

"  I  will  not  hide  from  you,"  replied  the  Landlord,  "  that  a 
story  runs  of  there  being  mischief  in  the  Castle,  and  a  Goblin 
that  frequents  it.  You,  however,  need  not  let  tho  thing  disturb 
you ;  we  are  near  enough,  you  see,  for  you  to  call  us,  should  you 
meet  with  aught  unnatural ;  I  and  my  folks  will  be  at  your  hand 
in  a  twinkling,  to  assist  you.  Down  in  the  house  there  we  keep 
astir  all  night  through,  some  one  is  always  moving.  I  have  lived 
here  these  thirty  years  ;  yet  I  cannot  say  that  I  have  ever  seen 
aught.  If  there  be  now  and  then  a  little  hurly-burlying  at  nights, 
it  is  nothing  but  cats  and  martins  rummaging  about  the  granary. 
As  a  precaution,  I  have  provided  you  with  candles  :  the  night  is 
no  friend  of  man ;  and  the  tapers  are  consecrated,  so  that  sprites, 
if  there  be  such  in  the  Castle,  will  avoid  their  shine." 

It  was  no  lying  in  Mine  Host  to  say  that  he  had  never  seen 


DUMB  LOVE. 


85 


anything  of  spectres  in  the  Castle  ;  for  by  night  he  had  taken 
special  care  not  once  to  set  foot  in  it ;  and  by  day  the  Goblin  did 
not  come  to  sight.  In  the  present  case,  too,  the  traitor  would  not 
risk  himself  across  the  border.  After  opening  the  door,  he  handed 
Franz  the  basket,  directed  him  what  way  to  go,  and  wished  him 
good-night.  Franz  entered  the  lobby  without  anxiety  or  fear ; 
believing  the  ghost- story  to  be  empty  tattle,  or  a  distorted  tradi- 
tion of  some  real  occurrence  in  the  place,  which  idle  fancy  had 
shaped  into  an  unnatural  adventure.  He  remembered  the  stout 
Ritter  Eberhard  Bronkhorst,  from  whose  heavy  arm  he  had  appre- 
hended such  maltreatment,  and  with  whom,  notwithstanding,  he 
had  found  so  hospitable  a  reception.  On  this  ground  he  had  laid 
it  down  as  a  rule  deduced  from  his  travelling  experiences,  when 
he  heard  any  common  rumour,  to  believe  exactly  the  reverse,  and 
left  the  grain  of  truth,  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  wise  Knight, 
always  lies  in  such  reports,  entirely  out  of  sight. 

Pursuant  to  Mine  Host's  direction,  he  ascended  the  winding 
stone  stair ;  and  reached  a  bolted  door,  which  he  opened  with  his 
key.  A  long  dark  gallery,  where  his  footsteps  resounded,  led  him 
into  a  large  hall,  and  from  this,  a  side-door,  into  a  suite  of  apart- 
ments, richly  provided  with  all  furniture  for  decoration  or  conve- 
nience. Out  of  these  he  chose  the  room  which  had  the  friendliest 
aspect,  where  he  found  a  well-pillowed  bed  ;  and  from  the  window 
could  look  right  down  upon  the  inn,  and  catch  every  loud  word 
that  was  spoken  there.  He  lit  his  wax-tapers,  furnished  his  table, 
and  feasted  with  the  commodiousness  and  relish  of  an  Otaheitean 
noble.  The  big-bellied  flask  was  an  antidote  to  thirst.  So  long 
as  his  teeth  were  in  full  occupation,  he  had  no  time  to  think  of 
the  reported  devilry  in  the  Castle.  If  aught  now  and  then  made 
a  stir  in  the  distance,  and  Fear  called  to  him,  "  Hark  !  hark  ! 
there  comes  the  Goblin  ;"  Courage  answered :  "  Stuff !  it  is  cats 
and  martins  bickering  and  caterwauling."  But  in  the  digestive 
half-hour  after  meat,  when  the  sixth  sense,  that  of  hunger  and 
thirst,  no  longer  occupied  the  soul,  she  directed  her  attention 
from  the  other  five  exclusively  upon  the  sense  of  hearing ;  and  al- 
ready Fear  was  whispering  three  timid  thoughts  into  the  listener's 
ear,  before  Courage  had  time  to  answer  once. 

As  the  first  resource,  he  locked  the  door,  and  bolted  it ;  made 
his  retreat  to  the  walled  seat  in  the  vault  of  the  window.  He 
opened  this,  and  to  dissipate  his  thoughts  a  little,  looked  out  on 
the  spangled  sky,  gazed  at  the  corroded  moon,  and  counted  how 


36 


MUSiEUS. 


often  the  stars  snuffed  themselves.  On  the  road  beneath  him 
all  was  void ;  and  in  spite  of  the  pretended  nightly  bustle  in  the 
inn,  the  doors  were  shut,  the  lights  out,  and  everything  as  still  as 
in  a  sepulchre.  On  the  other  hand,  the  watchman  blew  his  horn, 
making  his  "  List,  gentlemen  !"  sound  over  all  the  hamlet ;  and 
for  the  composure  of  the  timorous  astronomer,  who  still  kept 
feasting  his  eyes  on  the  splendour  of  the  stars,  uplifted  a  rusty 
evening  -  hymn  right  under  his  window ;  so  that  Franz  might 
easily  have  carried  on  a  conversation  with  him,  which,  for  the 
sake  of  company,  he  would  willingly  have  done,  had  he  in  the 
least  expected  that  the  watchman  would  make  answer  to  him. 

Tn  a  populous  city,  in  the  middle  of  a  numerous  household, 
where  there  is  a  hubbub  equal  to  that  of  a  bee-hive,  it  may  form 
a  pleasant  entertainment  for  the  thinker  to  philosophise  on  Soli- 
tude, to  decorate  her  as  the  loveliest  playmate  of  the  human  spirit, 
to  view  her  under  all  her  advantageous  aspects,  and  long  for  her 
enjoyment  as  for  hidden  treasure.  But  in  scenes  where  she  is 
no  exotic,  in  the  isle  of  Juan  Fernandez,  where  a  solitary  eremite, 
escaped  from  shipwreck,  lives  with  her  through  long  years ;  or  in 
the  dreary  night-time,  in  a  deep  wood,  or  in  an  old  uninhabited 
castle,  where  empty  walls  and  vaults  awaken  horror,  and  nothing 
breathes  of  life,  but  the  moping  owl  in  the  ruinous  turret ;  there, 
in  good  sooth,  she  is  not  the  most  agreeable  companion  for  the 
timid  anchorite  that  has  to  pass  his  time  in  her  abode,  especially 
if  he  is  every  moment  looking  for  the  entrance  of  a  spectre  to 
augment  the  party.  In  such  a  case  it  may  easily  chance  that 
a  window  conversation  with  the  watchman  shall  afford  a  richer 
entertainment  for  the  spirit  and  the  heart,  than  a  reading  of  the 
most  attractive  eulogy  on  solitude.  If  Eitter  Zimmermann  had 
been  in  Franz's  place,  in  the  castle  of  Kummelsburg,  on  the 
Westphalian  marches,  he  would  doubtless  in  this  position  have 
struck  out  the  fundamental  topics  of  as  interesting  a  treatise 
on  Society,  as,  inspired  to  all  appearance  by  the  irksomeness  of 
some  ceremonious  assembly,  he  has  poured  out  from  the  fulness 
of  his  heart  in  praise  of  Solitude. 

Midnight  is  the  hour  at  which  the  world  of  spirits  acquires 
activity  and  life,  when  hebetated  animal  nature  lies  entombed  in 
deep  slumber.  Franz  inclined  getting  through  this  critical  hour 
in  sleep  rather  than  awake ;  so  he  closed  his  window,  went  the 
rounds  of  his  room  once  more,  spying  every  nook  and  crevice,  to 
see  whether  all  was  safe  and  earthly ;  snuffed  the  lights  to  make 


DUMB  LOVE. 


37 


them  burn  clearer ;  and  without  undressing  or  delaying,  threw 
himself  upon  his  bed,  with  which  his  wearied  person  felt  unusual 
satisfaction.  Yet  he  could  not  get  asleep  so  fast  as  he  wished.  A 
slight  palpitation  at  the  heart,  which  he  ascribed  to  a  tumult  in 
the  blood,  arising  from  the  sultriness  of  the  day,  kept  him  waking 
for  a  while ;  and  he  failed  not  to  employ  this  respite  in  offering 
up  such  a  pithy  evening  prayer  as  he  had  not  prayed  for  many 
years.  This  produced  the  usual  effect,  that  he  softly  fell  asleep 
while  saying  it. 

After  about  an  hour,  as  he  supposed,  he  started  up  with  a 
sudden  terror ;  a  thing  not  at  all  surprising  when  there  is  tumult 
in  the  blood.  He  was  broad  awake  :  he  listened  whether  all  was 
quiet,  and  heard  nothing  but  the  clock  strike  twelve ;  a  piece  of 
news  which  the  watchman  forthwith  communicated  to  the  hamlet 
in  doleful  recitative.  Franz  listened  for  a  while,  turned  on  the 
other  side,  and  was  again  about  to  sleep,  when  he  caught,  as  it 
were,  the  sound  of  a  door  grating  in  the  distance,  and  immediately 
it  shut  with  a  stifled  bang.  "Alake  !  alake!"  bawled  Fright  into 
his  ear  ;  "  this  is  the  Ghost  in  very  deed  !" — "  'Tis  nothing  but 
the  wind,"  said  Courage  manfully.  But  quickly  it  came  nearer, 
nearer,  like  the  sound  of  heavy  footsteps.  Clink  here,  clink  there, 
as  if  a  criminal  were  rattling  his  irons,  or  as  if  the  porter  were 
walking  about  the  Castle  with  his  bunch  of  keys.  Alas,  here  was 
no  wind  business  !  Courage  held  his  peace ;  and  quaking  Fear 
drove  all  the  blood  to  the  heart,  and  made  it  thump  like  a  smith's 
forge-hammer. 

The  thing  was  now  beyond  jesting.  If  Fear  would  still  have 
let  Courage  get  a  word,  the  latter  would  have  put  the  terror-struck 
watcher  in  mind  of  his  subsidiary  treaty  with  Mine  Host,  and  in- 
cited him  to  claim  the  stipulated  assistance  loudly  from  the  win- 
dow ;  but  for  this  there  was  a  want  of  proper  resolution.  The 
quaking  Franz  had  recourse  to  the  bed-clothes,  the  last  fortress  of 
the  timorous,  and  drew  them  close  over  his  ears,  as  Bird  Ostrich 
sticks  his  head  in  the  grass,  when  he  can  no  longer  escape  the 
huntsman.  Outside  it  came  along,  door  up,  door  to,  with  hideous 
uproar  ;  and  at  last  it  reached  the  bed-room.  It  jerked  sharply  at 
the  lock,  tried  several  keys  till  it  found  the  right  one  ;  yet  the  bar 
still  held  the  door,  till  a  bounce  like  a  thunder- clap  made  bolt  and 
rivet  start,  and  threw  it  wide  open.  Now  stalked  in  a  long  lean 
man,  with  a  black  beard,  in  ancient  garb,  and  with  a  gloomy  coun- 
tenance, his  eyebrows  hanging  down  in  deep  earnestness  from  his 


33 


MUSiEUS. 


brow.  Over  his  right  shoulder  he  had  a  scarlet  cloak;  and  on  his 
head  he  wore  a  peaked  hat.  With  a  heavy  step  he  walked  thrice 
in  silence  up  and  down  the  chamber ;  looked  at  the  consecrated 
tapers,  and  snuffed  them  that  they  might  burn  brighter.  Then 
he  threw  aside  his  cloak,  girded  on  a  scissor-pouch  which  he  had 
under  it,  produced  a  set  of  shaving-tackle,  and  immediately  began 
to  whet  a  sharp  razor  on  the  broad  strap  which  he  wore  at  his 
girdle. 

Franz  perspired  in  mortal  agony  under  his  coverlet ;  recom- 
mended himself  to  the  keeping  of  the  Virgin  ;  and  anxiously 
speculated  on  the  object  of  this  manoeuvre,  not  knowing  whether 
it  was  meant  for  his  throat  or  his  beard.  To  his  comfort,  the 
Goblin  poured  some  water  from  a  silver  flask  into  a  basin  of  silver, 
and  with  his  skinnj^  hand  lathered  the  soap  into  light  foam  ;  then 
set  a  chair,  and  beckoned  with  a  solemn  look  to  the  quaking 
looker-on  to  come  forth  from  his  recess. 

Against  so  pertinent  a  sign,  remonstrance  was  as  bootless  as 
it  is  against  the  rigorous  commands  of  the  Grand  Turk,  when  he 
transmits  an  exiled  vizier  to  the  Angel  of  Death,  the  Capichi 
Bashi  with  the  Silken  Cord,  to  take  delivery  of  his  head.  The 
most  rational  procedure  that  can  be  adopted  in  this  critical  case, 
is  to  comply  with  necessity,  put  a  good  face  on  a  bad  business, 
and  with  stoical  composure  let  one's  throat  be  noosed.  Franz 
honoured  the  Spectre's  order ;  the  coverlet  began  to  move,  he 
sprang  sharply  from  his  couch,  and  took  the  place  pointed  out  to 
him  on  the  seat.  However  strange  this  quick  transition  from  the 
uttermost  terror  to  the  boldest  resolution  may  appear,  I  doubt  not 
but  Moritz  in  his  Psychological  Journal  could  explain  the  matter 
till  it  seemed  quite  natural. 

Immediately  the  Goblin  Barber  tied  the  towel  about  his  shiver- 
ing customer ;  seized  the  comb  and  scissors,  and  clipped  off  his 
hair  and  beard.  Then  he  soaped  him  scientifically,  first  the  beard, 
next  the  eyebrows,  at  last  the  temples  and  the  hind-head  ;  and 
shaved  him  from  throat  to  nape  as  smooth  and  bald  as  a  Death's- 
head.  This  operation  finished,  he  washed  his  head,  dried  it  clean, 
made  his  bow,  and  buttoned-up  his  scissor-pouch ;  wrapped  him- 
self in  his  scarlet  mantle,  and  made  for  departing.  The  conse- 
crated tapers  had  burnt  with  an  exquisite  brightness  through  the 
whole  transaction  ;  and  Franz,  by  the  light  of  them,  perceived  in 
the  mirror  that  the  shaver  had  changed  him  into  a  Chinese  pagoda. 
In  secret  he  heartily  deplored  the  loss  of  his  fair  brown  locks ;  yet 


DUMB  LOVE. 


39 


now  took  fresh  breath,  as  he  observed  that  with  this  sacrifice  the 
account  was  settled,  and  the  Ghost  had  no  more  power  over  him. 

So  it  was  in  fact;  Kedcloak  went  towards  the  door,  silently 
as  he  had  entered,  without  salutation  or  good-b'ye ;  and  seemed 
entirely  the  contrast  of  his  talkative  guild-brethren.  But  scarcely 
was  he  gone  three  steps,  when  he  paused,  looked  round  with  a 
mournful  expression  at  his  well- served  customer,  and  stroked  the 
flat  of  his  hand  over  his  black  bushy  beard.  He  did  the  same  a 
second  time ;  and  again,  just  as  he  was  in  the  act  of  stepping 
out  at  the  door.  A  thought  struck  Franz  that  the  Spectre  wanted 
something;  and  a  rapid  combination  of  ideas  suggested,  that  per- 
haps he  was  expecting  the  very  service  he  himself  had  just  per- 
formed. 

As  the  Ghost,  notwithstanding  his  rueful  look,  seemed  more 
disposed  for  banter  than  for  seriousness,  and  had  played  his  guest 
a  scurvy  trick,  not  done  him  any  real  injury,  the  panic  of  the  latter 
had  now  almost  subsided.  So  he  ventured  the  experiment,  and 
beckoned  to  the  Ghost  to  take  the  seat  from  which  he  had  him- 
self just  risen.  The  Goblin  instantly  obeyed,  threw  off  his  cloak, 
laid  his  barber  tackle  on  the  table,  and  placed  himself  in  the  chair, 
in  the  posture  of  a  man  that  wishes  to  be  shaved.  Franz  care- 
fully observed  the  same  procedure  which  the  Spectre  had  observed 
to  him,  clipped  his  beard  with  the  scissors,  cropt  away  his  hair, 
lathered  his  whole  scalp,  and  the  Ghost  all  the  while  sat  steady 
as  a  wig-block.  The  awkward  journeyman  came  ill  at  handling 
the  razor  :  he  had  never  had  another  in  his  hand ;  and  he  shore 
the  beard  right  against  the  hair ;  whereat  the  Goblin  made  as 
strange  grimaces  as  Erasmus's  Ape,  when  imitating  its  master's 
shaving.  Nor  was  the  unpractised  bungler  himself  well  at  ease, 
and  he  thought  more  than  once  of  the  sage  aphorism,  What  is  not 
thy  trade  make  not  thy  business ;  yet  he  struggled  through  the 
task,  the  best  way  he  could,  and  scraped  the  Ghost  as  bald  as  he 
himself  was. 

Hitherto  the  scene  between  the  Spectre  and  the  traveller  had 
been  played  pantomimically ;  the  action  now  became  dramatic. 
"  Stranger,"  said  the  Ghost,  "  accept  my  thanks  for  the  service 
thou  hast  done  me.  By  thee  I  am  delivered  from  the  long  im- 
prisonment, which  has  chained  me  for  three  hundred  years  within 
these  walls ;  to  which  my  departed  soul  was  doomed,  till  a  mortal 
hand  should  consent  to  retaliate  on  me  what  I  practised  on  others 
in  my  lifetime. 


40 


MUSiEUS. 


"  Know  that  of  old  a  reckless  scorner  dwelt  within  this  tower, 
who  took  his  sport  on  priests  as  well  as  laics.  Count  Hardman, 
such  his  name,  was  no  philanthropist,  acknowledged  no  superior 
and  no  law,  but  practised  vain  caprice  and  waggery,  regarding  not 
the  sacredness  of  hospitable  rights  :  the  wanderer  who  came  be- 
neath his  roof,  the  needy  man  who  asked  a  charitable  alms  of  him, 
he  never  sent  away  un visited  by  wicked  joke.  I  was  his  Castle 
Barber,  still  a  willing  instrument,  and  did  whatever  pleased  him. 
Many  a  pious  pilgrim,  journeying  past  us,  I  allured  with  friendly 
speeches  to  the  hall ;  prepared  the  bath  for  him,  and  when  he 
thought  to  take  good  comfort,  shaved  him  smooth  and  bald,  and 
packed  him  out  of  doors.  Then  would  Count  Hardman,  looking 
from  the  window,  see  with  pleasure  how  the  foxes'  whelps  of  chil- 
dren gathered  from  the  hamlet  to  assail  the  outcast,  and  to  cry 
as  once  their  fellows  to  Elisha  :  '  Baldhead  !  Baldhead!'  In 
this  the  scoffer  took  his  pleasure,  laughing  with  a  devilish  joy, 
till  he  would  hold  his  pot-paunch,  and  his  eyes  ran  down  with 
water. 

"Once  came  a  saintly  man,  from  foreign  lands;  he  carried, 
like  a  penitent,  a  heavy  cross  upon  his  shoulder,  and  had  stamped 
five  nail-marks  on  his  hands,  and  feet,  and  side ;  upon  his  head 
there  was  a  ring  of  hair  like  to  the  Crown  of  Thorns.  He  called 
upon  us  here,  requesting  water  for  his  feet,  and  a  small  crust  of 
bread.  Immediately  I  took  him  to  the  bath,  to  serve  him  in  my 
common  way ;  respected  not  the  sacred  ring,  but  shore  it  clean 
from  off  him.  Then  the  pious  pilgrim  spoke  a  heavy  malison 
upon  me  :  '  Know,  accursed  man,  that  when  thou  diest,  Heaven, 
and  Hell,  and  Purgatory's  iron  gate,  are  shut  against  thy  soul. 
As  goblin  it  shall  rage  within  these  walls,  till  unrequired,  unbid, 
a  traveller  come  and  exercise  retaliation  on  thee.' 

"  That  hour  I  sickened,  and  the  marrow  in  my  bones  dried 
up ;  I  faded  like  a  shadow.  My  spirit  left  the  wasted  carcass, 
and  was  exiled  to  this  Castle,  as  the  saint  had  doomed  it.  In 
vain  I  struggled  for  deliverance  from  the  torturing  bonds  that 
fettered  me  to  Earth ;  for  thou  must  know,  that  when  the  soul 
forsakes  her  clay,  she  panteth  for  her  place  of  rest,  and  this  sick 
longing  spins  her  years  to  aeons,  while  in  foreign  element  she 
languishes  for  home.  Now  self-tormenting,  I  pursued  the  mourn- 
ful occupation  I  had  followed  in  my  lifetime.  Alas  !  my  uproar 
soon  made  desolate  this  house  !  But  seldom  came  a  pilgrim  here 
to  lodge.    And  though  I  treated  all  like  thee,  no  one  would  un- 


DUMB  LOVE. 


41 


derstand  me,  and  perform,  as  thou,  the  service  which  has  freed 
my  soul  from  bondage.  Henceforth  shall  no  hobgoblin  wander 
in  this  Castle ;  I  return  to  my  long-wished-for  rest.  And  now, 
young  stranger,  once  again  my  thanks,  that  thou  hast  loosed  me  ! 
Were  I  keeper  of  deep-hidden  treasures,  they  were  thine ;  but 
wealth  in  life  was  not  my  lot,  nor  in  this  Castle  lies  there  any 
cash  entombed.  Yet  mark  my  counsel.  Tarry  here  till  beard 
and  locks  again  shall  cover  chin  and  scalp;  then  turn  thee  home- 
wards to  thy  native  town ;  and  on  the  We ser- bridge  of  Bremen, 
at  the  time  when  day  and  night  in  Autumn  are  alike,  wait  for  a 
Friend,  who  there  will  meet  thee,  who  will  tell  thee  what  to  do, 
that  it  be  well  with  thee  on  Earth.  If  from  the  golden  horn  of 
plenty,  blessing  and  abundance  flow  to  thee,  then  think  of  me ; 
and  ever  as  the  day  thou  freedst  me  from  the  curse  comes  round, 
cause  for  my  soul's  repose  three  masses  to  be  said.  Now  fare 
thee  well.    I  go,  no  more  returning."7 

With  these  words  the  Ghost,  having  by  his  copiousness  of 
talk  satisfactorily  attested  his  former  existence  as  court-barber  in 
the  Castle  of  Eummelsburg,  vanished  into  air,  and  left  his  de- 
liverer full  of  wonder  at  the  strange  adventure.  He  stood  for  a 
long  while  motionless ;  in  doubt  whether  the  whole  matter  had 
actually  happened,  or  an  unquiet  dream  had  deluded  his  senses ; 
but  his  bald  head  convinced  him  that  here  had  been  a  real  occur- 
rence. He  returned  to  bed,  and  slept,  after  the  fright  he  had 
undergone,  till  the  hour  of  noon.  The  treacherous  Landlord  had 
been  watching  since  morning,  when  the  traveller  with  the  scalp 
was  to  come  forth,  that  he  might  receive  him  with  jibing  speeches 
under  pretext  of  astonishment  at  his  nocturnal  adventure.  But 
as  the  stranger  loitered  too  long,  and  mid-day  was  approaching, 
the  affair  became  serious ;  and  Mine  Host  began  to  dread  that 
the  Goblin  might  have  treated  his  guest  a  little  harshly,  have 
beaten  him  to  a  jelly  perhaps,  or  so  frightened  him  that  he  had 
died  of  terror ;  and  to  carry  his  wanton  revenge  to  such  a  length 
as  this  had  not  been  his  intention.  He  therefore  rang  his  people 
together,  hastened  out  with  man  and  maid  to  the  tower,  and 
reached  the  door  of  the  apartment  where  he  had  observed  the 
light  on  the  previous  evening.  He  found  an  unknown  key  in  the 
lock ;  but  the  door  was  barred  within  ;  for  after  the  disappearance 

7  I  know  not  whether  the  reader  has  observed,  that  our  Author  makes  the 
Spectre  speak  in  iambics ;  a  whim  which  here  and  there  comes  over  him  in  other 
tales  also. — Wielanp. 


42 


MUS^EUS. 


of  the  Goblin,  Franz  had  again  secured  it.  He  knocked  with 
a  perturbed  violence,  till  the  Seven  Sleepers  themselves  would 
have  awoke  at  the  din.  Franz  started  up,  and  thought  in  his 
first  confusion  that  the  Ghost  was  again  standing  at  the  door,  to 
favour  him  with  another  call.  But  hearing  Mine  Host's  voice, 
who  required  nothing  more  but  that  his  guest  would  give  some 
sign  of  life,  he  gathered  himself  up  and  opened  the  room. 

With  seeming  horror  at  the  sight  of  him,  Mine  Host,  strik- 
ing his  hands  together,  exclaimed :  "  By  Heaven  and  all  the 
saints  !  Redcloak"  (by  this  name  the  Ghost  was  known  among 
them)  "has  been  here,  and  has  shaved  you  bald  as  a  block! 
Now,  it  is  clear  as  day  that  the  old  story  is  no  fable.  But  tell  me 
how  looked  the  Goblin  :  what  did  he  say  to  you?  what  did  he  do  ?" 

Franz,  who  had  now  seen  through  the  questioner,  made  ans- 
wer:  "  The  Goblin  looked  like  a  man  in  a  red  cloak;  what  he 
did  is  not  hidden  from  you,  and  what  he  said  I  well  remember : 
'  Stranger,'  said  he,  1  trust  no  innkeeper  who  is  a  Turk  in  grain. 
What  would  befall  thee  here  he  knew.  Be  wise  and  happy.  I 
withdraw  from  this  my  ancient  dwelling,  for  my  time  is  run. 
Henceforth  no  goblin  riots  here ;  I  now  become  a  silent  Incubus, 
to  plague  the  Landlord ;  nip  him,  tweak  him,  harass  him,  unless 
the  Turk  do  expiate  his  sin ;  do  freely  give  thee  prog  and  lodg- 
ing till  brown  locks  again  shall  cluster  round  thy  head.'  "8 

The  Landlord  shuddered  at  these  words,  cut  a  large  cross  in 
the  air  before  him,  vowed  by  the  Holy  Virgin  to  give  the  traveller 
free  board  so  long  as  he  liked  to  continue,  led  him  over  to  his 
house,  and  treated  him  with  the  best.  By  this  adventure,  Franz 
had  well-nigh  got  the  reputation  of  a  conjuror,  as  the  spirit  thence- 
forth never  once  showed  face.  He  often  passed  the  night  in  the 
tower ;  and  a  desperado  of  the  village  once  kept  him  company, 
without  having  beard  or  scalp  disturbed.  The  owner  of  the  place, 
having  learned  that  Bedcloak  no  longer  walked  in  Bummels- 
burg,  was,  of  course,  delighted  at  the  news,  and  ordered  that  the 
stranger,  who,  as  he  supposed,  had  laid  him,  should  be  well  taken 
care  of. 

By  the  time  when  the  clusters  were  beginning  to  be  coloured 
on  the  vine,  and  the  advancing  autumn  reddened  the  apples,  Franz's 
brown  locks  were  again  curling  over  his  temples,  and  he  girded  up 
his  knapsack  ;  for  all  his  thoughts  and  meditations  were  turned 

8  Here  too,  on  the  Spectre's  score,  Franz  makes  extempore  iambics. — Wis- 

LAND. 


DUMB  LOVE.  43 

upon  the  Weser-bridge,  to  seek  the  Friend,  who,  at  the  behest  of 
the  Goblin  Barber,  was  to  direct  him  how  to  make  his  fortune. 
When  about  taking  leave  of  Mine  Host,  that  charitable  person  led 
from  his  stable  a  horse  well  saddled  and  equipt,  which  the  owner 
of  the  Castle  had  presented  to  the  stranger,  for  having  made  his 
house  again  habitable  ;  nor  had  the  Count  forgot  to  send  a  suffi- 
cient purse  along  with  it,  to  bear  its  travelling  charges ;  and  so 
Franz  came  riding  back  into  his  native  city,  brisk  and  light  of 
heart,  as  he  had  ridden  out  of  it  twelve  months  ago.  He  sought 
out  his  old  quarters  in  the  alley,  but  kept  himself  quite  still  and 
retired ;  only  inquiring  underhand  how  matters  stood  with  the  fair 
Meta,  whether  she  was  still  alive  and  unwedded.  To  this  inquiry 
he  received  a  satisfactory  answer,  and  contented  himself  with  it 
in  the  mean  while ;  for,  till  his  fate  were  decided,  he  would  not 
risk  appearing  in  her  sight,  or  making  known  to  her  his  arrival 
in  Bremen. 

With  unspeakable  longing,  he  waited  the  equinox  ;  his  im- 
patience made  every  intervening  day  a  year.  At  last  the  long- 
wished-for  term  appeared.  The  night  before,  he  could  not  close 
an  eye,  for  thinking  of  the  winders  that  were  coming.  The  blood 
was  whirling  and  beating  in  his  arteries,  as  it  had  done  at  the 
Castle  of  Eummelsburg,  when  he  lay  in  expectation  of  his  spectre 
visitant.  To  be  sure  of  not  missing  his  expected  Friend,  he  rose 
by  daybreak,  and  proceeded  with  the  earliest  dawn  to  the  Weser- 
bridge,  which  as  yet  stood  empty  and  untrod  by  passengers.  He 
walked  along  it  several  times  in  solitude,  with  that  presentiment 
of  coming  gladness,  which  includes  in  it  the  real  enjoyment  of  all 
terrestrial  felicity ;  for  it  is  not  the  attainment  of  our  wishes,  but 
the  undoubted  hope  of  attaining  them,  which  offers  to  the  human 
soul  the  full  measure  of  highest  and  most  heartfelt  satisfaction. 
He  formed  many  projects  as  to  how  he  should  present  himself  to 
his  beloved  Meta,  wThen  his  looked  -  for  happiness  should  have 
arrived ;  whether  it  would  be  better  to  appear  before  her  in  full 
splendour,  or  to  mount  from  his  former  darkness  with  the  first 
gleam  of  morning  radiance,  and  discover  to  her  by  degrees  the 
change  in  his  condition.  Curiosity,  moreover,  put  a  thousand 
questions  to  Reason  in  regard  to  the  adventure.  Who  can  the 
Friend  be  that  is  to  meet  me  on  the  Weser-bridge  ?  Will  it  be 
one  of  my  old  acquaintances,  by  whom,  since  my  ruin,  I  have 
been  entirely  forgotten  ?  How  will  he  pave  the  way  to  me  for 
happiness  ?  And  will  this  way  be  short  or  long,  easy  or  toilsome  ? 


44 


MUS^US. 


To  the  whole  of  which  Keason,  in  spite  of  all  her  thinldiig  and 

speculating,  answered  not  a  word. 

In  about  an  hour,  the  Bridge  began  to  get  awake ;  there  was 
riding,  driving,  walking  to  and  fro  on  it ;  and  much  commercial 
ware  passing  this  way  and  that.  The  usual  day-guard  of  beggars 
and  importunate  persons  also  by  degrees  took  up  this  post,  so 
favourable  for  their  trade,  to  levy  contributions  on  the  public  bene- 
volence ;  for  of  poor-houses  and  work-houses,  the  wisdom  of  the 
legislature  had  as  yet  formed  no  scheme.  The  first  of  the  tattered 
cohort  that  applied  for  alms  to  the  jovial  promenader,  from  whose 
eyes  gay  hope  laughed  forth,  was  a  discharged  soldier,  provided 
with  the  military  badge  of  a  timber  leg,  which  had  been  lent  him, 
seeing  he  had  fought  so  stoutly  in  former  days  for  his  native 
country,  as  the  recompense  of  his  valour,  with  the  privilege  of 
begging  where  he  pleased ;  and  who  now,  in  the  capacity  of  phy- 
siognomist, pursued  the  study  of  man  upon  the  Weser- bridge, 
with  such  success,  that  he  very  seldom  failed  in  his  attempts  for 
charity.  Nor  did  his  exploratory  glance  in  anywise  mislead  him 
in  the  present  instance  ;  for  Franz,  in  the  joy  of  his  heart,  threw 
a  white  engel-groschen  into  the  cripple's  hat. 

During  the  morning  hours,  when  none  but  the  laborious  artisan 
is  busy,  and  the  more  exalted  townsman  still  lies  in  sluggish  rest, 
he  scarcely  looked  for  his  promised  Friend ;  he  expected  him  in 
the  higher  classes,  and  took  little  notice  of  the  present  passengers. 
About  the  council-hour,  however,  when  the  Proceres  of  Bremen 
were  driving  past  to  the  hall,  in  their  gorgeous  robes  of  office,  and 
about  exchange-time,  he  was  all  eye  and  ear ;  he  spied  the  pas- 
sengers from  afar  ;  and  when  a  right  man  came  along  the  bridge, 
his  blood  began  to  flutter,  and  he  thought  here  was  the  creator  of 
his  fortune.  Meanwhile  hour  after  hour  passed  on ;  the  sun  rose 
high ;  ere  long  the  noontide  brought  a  pause  in  business ;  the 
rushing  crowd  faded  away ;  and  still  the  expected  Friend  appeared 
not.  Franz  now  walked  up  and  down  the  Bridge  quite  alone ; 
had  no  society  in  view  but  the  beggars,  who  were  serving  out 
their  cold  collations,  without  moving  from  the  place.  He  made 
no  scruple  to  do  the  same ;  and,  not  being  furnished  with  pro- 
visions, he  purchased  some  fruit,  and  took  his  dinner  inter  ambit- 
landum. 

The  whole  club  that  was  dining  on  the  Bridge  had  remarked 
the  young  man,  watching  here  from  early  morning  till  noon,  with- 
out addressing  any  one,  or  doing  any  sort  of  business.   They  held 


DUMB  LOVE. 


45 


him  to  be  a  lounger;  and  though  all  of  them  had  tasted  his  bounty, 
he  did  not  escape  their  critical  remarks.  In  jest,  they  had  named 
him  the  Bridge-bailiff.  The  physiognomist  with  the  timber-toe, 
however,  noticed  that  his  countenance  was  not  now  so  gay  as  in 
the  morning  ;  he  appeared  to  be  reflecting  earnestly  on  something ; 
he  had  drawn  his  hat  close  over  his  face  ;  his  movement  was  slow 
and  thoughtful ;  he  had  nibbled  at  an  apple -rind  for  some  time, 
without  seeming  to  be  conscious  that  he  was  doing  so.  From  this 
appearance  of  affairs,  the  man-spier  thought  he  might  extract  some 
profit;  therefore  he  put  his  wooden  and  his  living  leg  in  motion, 
and  stilted  off  to  the  other  end  of  the  Bridge,  and  lay  in  wait  for 
the  thinker,  that  he  might  assail  him,  under  the  appearance  of  a 
new  arrival,  for  a  fresh  alms.  This  invention  prospered  to  the 
full :  the  musing  philosopher  gave  no  heed  to  the  mendicant,  put 
his  hand  into  his  pocket  mechanically,  and  threw  a  six-groat  piece 
into  the  fellow's  hat,  to  be  rid  of  him. 

In  the  afternoon,  a  thousand  new  faces  once  more  came  abroad. 
The  watcher  was  now  tired  of  his  unknown  Friend's  delaying,  yet 
hope  still  kept  his  attention  on  the  stretch.  He  stept  into  the 
view  of  every  passenger,  hoped  that  one  of  them  would  clasp  him 
in  his  arms  ;  but  all  proceeded  coldly  on  their  way ;  the  most  did 
not  observe  him  at  all,  and  few  returned  his  salute  with  a  slight 
nod.  The  sun  was  already  verging  to  decline,  the  shadows  were 
becoming  longer,  the  crowd  upon  the  Bridge  diminished ;  and 
the  beggar-piquet  by  degrees  drew  back  into  their  barracks  in 
the  Mattenburg.  A  deep  sadness  sank  upon  the  hopeless  Franz, 
when  he.  saw  his  expectation  mocked,  and  the  lordly  prospect 
which  had  lain  before  him  in  the  morning  vanish  from  his  eyes 
at  evening.  Ho  fell  into  a  sort  of  sulky  desperation ;  was  on  the 
point  of  springing  over  the  parapet,  and  dashing  himself  down 
from  the  Bridge  into  the  river.  But  the  thought  of  Meta  kept 
him  back,  and  induced  him  to  postpone  his  purpose  till  he  had 
seen  her  yet  once  more.  He  resolved  to  watch  next  day  when 
she  should  go  to  church,  for  the  last  time  to  drink  delight  from 
her  looks,  and  then  forthwith  to  still  his  warm  love  forever  in  the 
cold  stream  of  the  Weser. 

While  about  to  leave  the  Bridge,  he  was  met  by  the  invalided 
pikeman  with  the  wooden  leg,  who,  for  pastime,  had  been  making 
many  speculations  as  to  what  could  be  the  young  man's  object, 
that  had  made  him  watch  upon  the  Bridge  from  dawn  to  darkness. 
He  himself  had  lingered  beyond  his  usual  time,  that  he  might  wait 


46 


him  out;  but  as  the  matter  hung  too  long  upon  the  pegs,  curi- 
osity incited  him  to  turn  to  the  youth  himself,  and  question  him 
respecting  it. 

"  No  offence,  young  gentleman,"  said  he  :  "  allow  me  to  ask 
you  a  question." 

Franz,  who  was  not  in  a  very  talking  humour,  and  was  now 
meeting,  from  the  mouth  of  a  cripple,  the  address  which  he  had 
looked  for  with  such  longing  from  a  friend,  answered  rather  tes- 
tily:  "Well,  then,  what  is  it?    Speak,  old  graybeard!" 

"  We  two,"  said  the  other,  "  were  the  first  upon  the  Bridge 
today,  and  now,  you  see,  we  are  the  last.  As  to  me  and  others 
of  my  kidney,  it  is  our  vocation  brings  us  hither,  our  trade  of 
alms -gathering  ;  but  for  you,  in  sooth  you  are  not  of  our  guild ; 
yet  you  have  watched  here  the  whole  blessed  day.  Now  I  pray 
you,  tell  me,  if  it  is  not  a  secret,  what  it  is  that  brings  you  hither ; 
or  what  stone  is  lying  on  your  heart,  that  you  wished  to  roll  away." 

"What  good  were  it  to  thee,  old  blade,"  said  Franz  bitterly, 
"to  know  where  the  shoe  pinches  me,  or  what  concern  is  lying 
on  my  heart  ?    It  will  give  thee  small  care." 

"  Sir,  I  have  a  kind  wish  towards  you,  because  you  opened 
your  hand  to  me,  and  twice  gave  me  alms,  for  which  God  re- 
ward you ;  but  your  countenance  at  night  was  not  so  cheerful 
as  in  the  morning,  and  that  grieves  my  heart." 

The  kindly  sympathy  of  this  old  warrior  pleased  the  misan- 
thrope, so  that  he  willingly  pursued  the  conversation. 

"  Why,  then,"  answered  he,  "if  thou  wouldst  know  what  has 
made  me  battle  here  all  day  with  tedium,  thou  must  understand 
that  I  was  waiting  for  a  Friend,  who  appointed  me  hither,  and 
now  leaves  me  to  expect  in  vain." 

"  Under  favour,"  answered  Timbertoe,  "  if  I  might  speak  my 
mind,  this  Friend  of  yours,  be  who  he  like,  is  little  better  than  a 
rogue,  to  lead  you  such  a  dance.  If  he  treated  me  so,  by  my  faith, 
his  crown  should  get  acquainted  with  my  crutch  next  time  we  met. 
If  he  could  not  keep  his  word,  he  should  have  let  you  know,  and 
not  bamboozled  you  as  if  you  were  a  child." 

"Yet  I  cannot  altogether  blame  this  Friend,"  said  Franz, 
"  for  being  absent ;  he  did  not  promise ;  it  was  but  a  dream  that 
told  me  I  should  meet  him  here." 

The  goblin-tale  was  too  long  for  him  to  tell,  so  he  veiled  it 
under  cover  of  a  dream. 

"  Ah  !  that  is  another  story,"  said  the  beggar ;  "if  you  build 


DUMB  LOVE. 


4? 


.  on  dreams,  it  is  little  wonder  that  your  hope  deceives  you.  I 
myself  have  dreamed  much  foolish  stuff  in  my  time ;  but  I  was 
never  such  a  madman  as  to  heed  it.  Had  I  all  the  treasures 
that  have  been  allotted  to  me  in  dreams,  I  might  buy  the  city  of 
Bremen,  were  it  sold  by  auction.  But  I  never  credited  a  jot  of 
them,  or  stirred  hand  or  foot  to  prove  their  worth  or  worthless- 
ness  :  I  knew  well  it  would  be  lost.  Ha  !  I  must  really  laugh  in 
your  face,  to  think  that  on  the  order  of  an  empty  dream,  you  have 
squandered  a  fair  day  of  your  life,  which  you  might  have  spent 
better  at  a  merry  banquet." 

"The  issue  shows  that  thou  art  right,  old  man,  and  that 
dreams  many  times  deceive.  But,"  continued  Franz,  defensively, 
' '  I  dreamed  so  vividly  and  circumstantially,  above  three  months 
ago,  that  on  this  very  day,  in  this  very  place,  I  should  meet  a 
Friend,  who  would  tell  me  things  of  the  deepest  importance,  that 
it  was  well  worth  while  to  go  and  see  if  it  would  come  to  pass." 

"0,  as  for  vividness,"  said  Timbertoe,  "no  man  can  dream 
more  vividly  than  I.  There  is  one  dream  I  had,  which  I  shall 
never  in  my  life  forget.  I  dreamed,  who  knows  how  many  years 
ago,  that  my  Guardian  Angel  stood  before  my  bed  in  the  figure 
of  a  youth,  with  golden  hair,  and  two  silver  wings  on  his  back, 
and  said  to  me  :  '  Berthold,  listen  to  the  words  of  my  mouth,  that 
none  of  them  be  lost  from  thy  heart.  There  is  a  treasure  ap- 
pointed thee,  which  thou  shalt  dig,  to  comfort  thy  heart  withal 
for  the  remaining  days  of  thy  life.  Tomorrow,  about  evening, 
when  the  sun  is  going  down,  take  spade  and  shovel  on  thy  shoul- 
der ;  go  forth  from  the  Mattenburg  on  the  right,  across  the  Tieber, 
by  the  Balkenbriicke,  past  the  Cloister  of  St.  John's,  and  on  to 
the  Great  Boland.9  Then  take  thy  way  over  the  Court  of  the 
Cathedral,  through  the  Schiisselkorb,  till  thou  arrive  without  the 
city  at  a  garden,  which  has  this  mark,  that  a  stair  of  three  stone 
steps  leads  down  from  the  highway  to  its  gate.  Wait  by  a  side, 
in  secret,  till  the  sickle  of  the  moon  shall  shine  on  thee,  then 
push  with  the  strength  of  a  man  against  the  weak-barred  gate, 
which  will  resist  thee  little.  Enter  boldly  into  the  garden,  and 
turn  thee  to  the  vine-trellises  which  overhang  the  covered-walk ; 

9  The  rude  figure  of  a  man  in  armour,  usually  erected  in  the  public  square  or 
market-place  of  old  German  towns,  is  called  the  Rolandsdule,  or  Rutlandsdule, 
from  its  supposed  reference  to  Roland  the  famous  peer  of  Charlemagne.  The 
proper  and  ancient  name,  it  seems,  is  Rug  elands  aide,  or  Pillar  of  Judgment ;  and 
the  stone  indicated,  of  old,  that  the  town  possessed  an  independent  jurisdic- 
tion.— Ed. 


48 


MUS^US. 


behind  this,  on  the  left,  a  tall  apple-tree  overtops  the  lowly  shrubs. 
Go  to  the  trunk  of  this  tree,  thy  face  turned  right  against  the 
moon  :  look  three  ells  before  thee  on  the  ground,  thou  shalt  see 
two  cinnamon-rose  bushes ;  there  strike  in,  and  dig  three  spans 
deep,  till  thou  find  a  stone  plate ;  under  this  lies  the  treasure, 
buried  in  an  iron  chest,  full  of  money  and  money's  worth.  Though 
the  chest  be  heavy  and  clumsy,  avoid  not  the  labour  of  lifting 
it  from  its  bed ;  it  will  reward  thy  trouble  well,  if  thou  seek  the 
key  which  lies  hid  beneath  it.'  " 

In  astonishment  at  what  he  heard,  Franz  stared  and  gazed 
upon  the  dreamer,  and  could  not  have  concealed  his  amazement, 
had  not  the  dusk  of  night  been  on  his  side.  By  every  mark  in 
the  description,  he  had  recognised  his  own  garden,  left  him  by 
his  fa! her.  It  had  been  the  good  man's  hobby  in  his  life;  but 
on  this  account  had  little  pleased  his  son ;  according  to  the  rule 
that  son  and  father  seldom  sympathise  in  their  favourite  pursuit, 
unless  indeed  it  be  a  vice,  in  which  case,  as  the  adage  runs,  the 
apple  often  falls  at  no  great  distance  from  the  trunk.  Father 
Melchior  had  himself  laid  out  this  garden,  altogether  to  his  own 
taste,  in  a  style  as  wonderful  and  varied  as  that  of  his  great-great- 
grandson,  who  has  immortalised  his  paradise  by  an  original  de- 
scription in  HirschfelcVs  Garden- Calendar.  He  had  not,  it  is 
true,  set  up  in  it  any  painted  menagerie  for  the  deception  of  the 
eye  ;  but  he  kept  a  very  large  one,  notwithstanding,  of  springing- 
horses,  winged-lions,  eagles,  griffins,  unicorns  and  other  wondrous 
beasts,  all  stamped  on  pure  gold,  which  he  carefully  concealed 
from  every  eye,  and  had  hid  in  their  iron  case  beneath  the  ground. 
This  paternal  Tempe  the  wasteful  son,  in  the  days  of  his  extra- 
vagance, had  sold  for  an  old  song. 

To  Franz  the  pikeman  had  at  once  become  extremely  interest- 
ing, as  he  perceived  that  this  was  the  very  Friend,  to  whom  the 
Goblin  in  the  Castle  of  Eummelsburg  had  consigned  him.  Gladly 
could  he  have  embraced  the  veteran,  and  in  the  first  rapture  called 
him  friend  and  father :  but  he  restrained  himself,  and  found  it 
more  advisable  to  keep  his  thoughts  about  this  piece  of  news  to 
himself.  So  he  said  :  "  Well,  this  is  what  I  call  a  circumstan- 
tial dream.  But  what  didst  thou  do,  old  master,  in  the  morning, 
on  awakening  ?  Didst  thou  not  follow  whither  thy  Guardian 
Angel  beckoned  thee  ?" 

"Pooh,"  said  the  dreamer,  "why  should  I  toil,  and  have 
my  labour  for  my  pains  ?    It  was  nothing,  after  all,  but  a  mere 


DUMB  LOVE. 


4<J 


dream.  If  my  Guardian  Angel  had  a  fancy  for  appearing  to  me. 
I  have  had  enow  of  sleepless  nights  in  my  time,  when  he  might 
have  found  me  waking.  But  he  takes  little  charge  of  me,  I  think, 
else  I  should  not,  to  his  shame,  he  going  hitching  here  on  a 
wooden  leg." 

Franz  took  out  the  last  piece  of  silver  he  had  on  him  : 
"  There,"  said  he,  "  old  Father,  take  this  other  gift  from  me,  to 
get  thee  a  pint  of  wine  for  evening- cup  :  thy  talk  has  scared  away 
my  ill  humour.  Neglect  not  diligently  to  frequent  this  Bridge  ; 
we  shall  see  each  other  here,  I  hope,  again." 

The  lame  old  man  had  not  gathered  so  rich  a  stock  of  aim? 
for  many  a  day,  as  he  was  now  possessed  of;  he  Messed  his  bene- 
factor for  his  kindness,  hopped  away  into  a  drinking-shop,  to  do 
himself  a  good  turn  ;  while  Franz,  enlivened  with  new  hope,  has- 
tened off  to  his  lodging  in  the  alley. 

Next  day  he  got  in  readiness  everything  that  is  required  for 
treasure-digging.  The  unessential  equipment's,  conjurations,  ma- 
gic formulas,  magic  girdles,  hieroglyphic  characters,  and  suchlike, 
were  entirely  wanting :  but  these  are  not  indispensable,  provided 
there  be  no  failure  in  the  three  main  requisites  :  shovel,  spade, 
and,  before  all,  a  treasure  underground.  The  necessary  imple- 
ments he  carried  to  the  place  a  little  before  sunset,  and  hid  them 
for  the  mean  while  in  a  hedge ;  and  as  to  the  treasure  itself,  he 
had  the  firm  conviction  that  the  Goblin  in  the  Castle,  and  the 
Friend  on  the  Bridge,  would  prove  no  liars  to  him.  With  long- 
ing impatience  he  expected  the  rising  of  the  moon  ;  and  no  sooner 
did  she  stretch  her  silver  horns  over  the  bushes,  than  he  briskly 
set  to  work  ;  observing  exactly  everything  the  Invalid  had  taught 
him  ;  and  happily  accomplished  the  raising  of  the  treasure,  with- 
out meeting  any  adventure  in  the  process  ;  without  any  black  dog 
having  frightened  him,  or  any  bluish  flame  having  lighted  him  to 
the  spot. 

Father  Melchior,  in  providently  burying  this  penny  for  a  rainy 
day,  had  nowise  meant  that  his  son  should  be  deprived  of  so  con- 
siderable a  part  of  his  inheritance.  The  mistake  lay  in  this,  that 
Death  had  escorted  the  testator  out  of  the  world  in  another  way 
than  said  testator  had  expected.  He  had  been  completely  con- 
vinced, that  he  should  take  his  journey,  old  and  full  of  days,  after 
regulating  his  temporal  concerns  with  all  the  formalities  of  an 
ordinary  sick  -  bed ;  for  so  it  had  been  prophesied  to  him  in  his 
youth.  In  consequence  he  purposed,  when,  according  to  the  usag« 

vol.  m,  9  e 


50 


MUS^IUS. 


of  the  Church,  extreme  unction  should  have  been  dispensed  to 
him,  to  call  his  beloved  son  to  his  bed-side,  having  previously 
dismissed  all  bystanders;  there  to  give  him  the  paternal  blessing, 
and  by  way  of  farewell  memorial  direct  him  to  this  treasure  buried 
in  the  garden.  All  this,  too,  would  have  happened  in  just  order, 
if  the  light  of  the  good  old  man  had  departed,  like  that  of  a  wick 
whose  oil  is  done ;  but  as  Death  had  privily  snuffed  him  out  at  a 
least,  he  undesignedly  took  along  with  him  his  Mammon  secret 
to  the  grave ;  and  almost  as  many  fortunate  concurrences  were 
required  before  the  secreted  patrimony  could  arrive  at  the  proper 
heir,  as  if  it  had  been  forwarded  to  its  address  by  the  hand  of 
Justice  itself. 

With  immeasurable  joy  the  treasure -digger  took  possession  of 
the  shapeless  Spanish  pieces,  which,  with  a  vast  multitude  of  other 
finer  coins,  the  iron  chest  had  faithfully  preserved.  When  the  first 
intoxication  of  delight  had  in  some  degree  evaporated,  he  be- 
thought him  how  the  treasure  was  to  be  transported,  safe  and  un- 
observed, into  the  narrow  alley.  The  burden  was  too  heavy  to  be 
carried  without  help;  thus,  with  the  possession  of  riches,  all  the 
cares  attendant  on  them  were  awakened.  The  new  Croesus  found 
no  better  plan,  than  to  intrust  his  capital  to  the  hollow  trunk  of  a 
tree  that  stood  behind  the  garden,  in  a  meadow :  the  empty  chest 
he  again  buried  under  the  rose-bush,  and  smoothed  the  place  as 
well  as  possible.  In  the  space  of  three  days,  the  treasure  had  been 
faithfully  transmitted  by  instalments  from  the  hollow  tree  into 
the  narrow  alley ;  and  now  the  owner  of  it  thought  he  might  with 
honour  lay  aside  his  strict  incognito.  He  dressed  himself  with  the 
finest;  had  his  Prayer  displaced  from  the  church;  and  required, 
instead  of  it,  "a  Christian  Thanksgiving  for  a  Traveller,  on  re- 
turning to  his  native  town,  after  happily  arranging  his  affairs." 
He  hid  himself  in  a  corner  of  the  church,  where  he  could  observe 
the  fair  Meta,  without  himself  being  seen;  he  turned  not  his  eye 
from  the  maiden,  and  drank  from  her  looks  the  actual  rapture, 
which  in  foretaste  had  restrained  him  from  the  break-neck  somer- 
set on  the  Bridge  of  the  Weser.  When  the  Thanksgiving  came  in 
hand,  a  glad  sympathy  shone  forth  from  all  her  features,  and  the 
cheeks  of  the  virgin  glowed  with  joy.  The  customary  greeting  on 
the  way  homewards  was  so  full  of  emphasis,  that  even  to  the  third 
party  who  had  noticed  them,  it  would  have  been  intelligible. 

Franz  now  appeared  once  more  on  the  Exchange ;  began  a 
branch  of  trade  which  in  a  few  weeks  extended  to  the  great  scale ; 


DUMB  LOVE. 


51 


and  as  his  wealth  became  daily  more  apparent,  Neighbour  Grudge, 
the  scandal-chewer,  was  obliged  to  conclude,  that  in  the  cashing  of 
his  old  debts,  he  must  have  had  more  luck  than  sense.  He  hired 
a  large  house,  fronting  the  Roland,  in  the  Market-place ;  engaged 
clerks  and  warehousemen,  and  carried  on  his  trade  unweariedly. 
Now  the  sorrowful  populace  of  parasites  again  diligently  handled 
the  knocker  of  his  door ;  appeared  in  crowds,  and  suffocated  him 
with  assurances  of  friendship,  and  joy-wdshings  on  his  fresh 
prosperity ;  imagined  they  should  once  more  catch  him  in  their 
robber  claws.  But  experience  had  taught  him  wisdom  ;  he  paid 
them  in  their  own  coin,  feasted  their  false  friendship  on  smooth 
words,  and  dismissed  them  with  fasting  stomachs ;  which  sove- 
reign means  for  scaring  off  the  cumbersome  brood  of  pickthanks 
and  toadeaters  produced  the  intended  effect,  that  they  betook 
them  elsewhither. 

In  Bremen,  the  remounting  Melcherson  had  become  the  story 
of  the  day ;  the  fortune  wThich  in  some  inexplicable  manner  he  had 
realised,  as  was  supposed,  in  foreign  parts,  wras  the  subject-matter 
of  all  conversations  at  formal  dinners,  in  the  Courts  of  Justice  and 
at  the  Exchange.  But  in  proportion  as  the  fame  of  his  fortune  and 
affluence  increased,  the  contentedness  and  peace  of  mind  of  the 
fair  Meta  diminished.  The  friend  in  petto  was  now,  in  her  opinion, 
well  qualified  to  speak  a  plain  word.  Yet  still  his  Love  continued 
Dumb ;  and  except  the  greeting  on  the  way  from  church,  he  gave 
no  tidings  of  himself.  Even  this  sort  of  visit  was  becoming  rarer, 
and  such  aspects  were  the  sign  not  of  warm,  but  of  cold  weather 
in  the  atmosphere  of  Love.  Jealousy,10  the  baleful  Harpy,  flut- 
tered round  her  little  room  by  night,  and  when  sleep  wTas  closing 
her  blue  eyes,  croaked  many  a  dolorous  presage  into  the  ear  of 
the  re-awakened  Meta.  "  Forego  the  flattering  hope  of  binding 
an  inconstant  heart,  wmich,  like  a  feather,  is  the  sport  of  every 
wind.  He  loved  thee,  and  wras  faithful  to  thee,  widle  his  lot  was 
as  thy  own  :  like  only  draws  to  like.  Now  a  propitious  destiny 
exalts  the  Changeful  far  above  thee.  Ah  !  now  he  scorns  the 
truest  thoughts  in  mean  apparel,  now  that  pomp,  and  wealth,  and 
splendour  dazzle  him  once  more ;  and  courts  who  knows  what 
haughty  fair  one  that  disdained  him  when  he  lay  among  the  pots, 
and  now  with  siren  call  allures  him  back  to  her.  Perhaps  her 
cozening  voice  has  turned  him  from  thee,  speaking  with  false 

i°  Jealousy  too  (at  bottom  a  very  sad  spectre,  but  not  here  introduced  as  one) 
now  croaks  in  iambics,  as  the  Goblin  Barber  lately  spoke  in  them. — Wieland. 


52 


MUSJEUS. 


words  :  '  For  thee,  God's  garden  blossoms  in  thy  native  town . 

friend,  thou  hast  now  thy  choice  of  all  our  maidens ;  choose 
with  prudence,  not  by  the  eye  alone.  Of  girls  are  many,  and  of 
fathers  many,  who  in  secret  lie  in  wait  for  thee  :  none  will  with- 
hold his  darling  daughter.  Take  happiness  and  honour  with  the 
fairest;  likewise  birth  and  fortune.  The  councillor  dignity  awaits 
thee,  where  vote  of  friends  is  potent  in  the  city.'  " 

These  suggestions  of  Jealousy  disturbed  and  tormented  her 
heart  without  ceasing  :  she  reviewed  her  fair  contemporaries  in 
Bremen,  estimated  the  ratio  of  so  many  splendid  matches  to  her- 
self and  her  circumstances ;  and  the  result  was  far  from  favour- 
able. The  first  tidings  of  her  lover's  change  of  situation  had  in 
secret  charmed  her ;  not  in  the  selfish  view  of  becoming  partici- 
patress  in  a  large  fortune ;  but  for  her  mother's  sake,  who  had 
abdicated  all  hopes  of  earthly  happiness,  ever  since  the  marriage 
project  with  neighbour  Hop-King  had  made  shipwreck.  But  now 
poor  Meta  wished  that  Heaven  had  not  heard  the  Prayer  of  the 
Church,  or  granted  to  the  traveller  any  such  abundance  of  suc- 
cess ;  but  rather  kept  him  by  the  bread  and  salt,  which  he  would 
willingly  have  shared  with  her. 

The  fair  half  of  the  species  are  by  no  means  calculated  to 
conceal  an  inward  care  :  Mother  Brigitta  soon  observed  the  trouble 
of  her  daughter;  and  without  the  use  of  any  great  penetration,  like- 
wise guessed  its  cause.  The  talk  about  the  re-ascending  star  of 
her  former  flax-negotiator,  who  was  now  celebrated  as  the  pattern 
of  an  orderly,  judicious,  active  tradesman,  had  not  escaped  her, 
any  more  than  the  feeling  of  the  good  Meta  towards  him ;  and  it 
was  her  opinion,  that  if  he  loved  in  earnest,  it  was  needless  to 
hang  off  so  long,  without  explaining  what  he  meant.  Yet  out  of 
tenderness  to  her  daughter,  she  let  no  hint  of  this  discovery  es- 
cape her;  till  at  length  poor  Meta*s  heart  became  so  full,  that  of 
her  own  accord  she  made  her  mother  the  confidante  of  her  sorrow, 
and  disclosed  to  her  its  true  origin.  The  shrewd  old  lady  learned 
little  more  by  this  disclosure  than  she  knew  already.  But  it 
afforded  opportunity  to  mother  and  daughter  for  a  full,  fair  and 
free  discussion  of  this  delicate  affair.  Brigitta  made  her  no  re- 
proaches on  the  subject ;  she  believed  that  what  was  done  could 
not  be  undone ;  and  directed  all  her  eloquence  to  strengthen  and 
encourage  the  dejected  Meta  to  bear  the  failure  of  her  hopes  with 
a  steadfast  mind. 

With  this  view,  she  spelt  out  to  her  the  extremely  reasonable 


DUMB  LOVE. 


53 


moral,  a,  b,  ab;  discoursing  thus  :  "  My  child,  thou  hast  already 
said  a,  thou  must  now  say  b  too  ;  thou  hast  scorned  thy  fortune 
when  it  sought  thee,  now  thou  must  submit  when  it  will  meet  thee 
no  longer.  Experience  has  taught  me,  that  the  most  confident 
Hope  is  the  first  to  deceive  us.  Therefore,  follow  my  example ; 
abandon  the  fair  cozener  utterly,  and  thy  peace  of  mind  will  no 
longer  be  disturbed  by  her.  Count  not  on  any  improvement  of 
thy  fate;  and  thou  wilt  grow  contented  with  thy  present  situation. 
Honour  the  spinning-wheel,  which  supports  thee  :  what  are  for- 
tune and  riches  to  thee,  when  thou  canst  do  without  them  ?" 

Close  on  this  stout  oration  followed  a  loud  humming  sym- 
phony of  snap -reel  and  spinning-wheel,  to  make  up  for  the  time 
lost  in  speaking.  Mother  Brigitta  was  in  truth  philosophising 
from  the  heart.  After  her  scheme  for  the  restoration  of  her  for- 
mer affluence  had  gone  to  ruin,  she  had  so  simplified  the  plan  of 
her  life,  that  Fate  could  not  perplex  it  any  more.  But  Meta  was 
still  far  from  this  philosophical  centre  of  indifference  ;  and  hence 
this  doctrine,  consolation  and  encouragement  affected  her  quite 
otherwise  than  had  been  intended :  the  conscientious  daughter 
now  looked  upon  herself  as  the  destroyer  of  her  mother's  fair 
hopes,  and  suffered  from  her  own  mind  a  thousand  reproaches  for 
this  fault.  Though  she  had  never  adopted  the  maternal  scheme 
of  marriage,  and  had  reckoned  only  upon  bread  and  salt  in  her 
future  wedlock ;  yet,  on  hearing  of  her  lover's  riches  and  spread- 
ing commerce,  her  diet-project  had  directly  mounted  to  six  plates ; 
and  it  delighted  her  to  think,  that  by  her  choice  she  should  still 
realise  her  good  mother's  wish,  and  see  her  once  more  planted  in 
her  previous  abundance. 

This  fair  dream  now  vanished  by  degrees,  as  Franz  continued 
silent.  To  make  matters  worse,  there  spread  a  rumour  over  all 
the  city,  that  he  was  furnishing  his  house  in  the  most  splendid 
fashion  for  his  marriage  with  a  rich  Antwerp  lady,  who  was  al- 
ready on  her  way  to  Bremen.  This  Job's-news  drove  the  lovely 
maiden  from  her  last  defence :  she  passed  on  the  apostate  sent- 
ence of  banishment  from  her  heart ;  and  vowed  from  that  hour 
never  more  to  think  of  him ;  and  aS  she  did  so,  wetted  the  twin- 
ing thread  with  her  tears. 

In  a  heavy  hour  she  was  breaking  this  vow,  and  thinking, 
against  her  will,  of  the  faithless  lover  :  for  she  had  just  spun  off  a 
rock  of  flax ;  and  there  was  an  old  rhyme  which  had  been  taught 
her  by  her  mother  for  encouragement  to  diligence : 


54 


MUS^US. 


'  Spin,  claughterkin,  spin  ; 
Thy  sweetheart's  within !' 

which  she  always  recollected  when  her  rock  was  done  ;  and  along 
with  it  the  memory  of  the  Deceitful  necessarily  occurred  to  her. 
In  this  heavy  hour,  a  finger  rapped  with  a  most  dainty  patter  at 
the  door.  Mother  Brigitta  looked  forth  :  the  sweetheart  was 
without.  And  who  could  it  be  ?  Who  else  but  neighbour  Franz, 
from  the  alley  ?  He  had  decked  himself  with  a  gallant  wooing- 
suit ;  and  his  well-dressed,  thick  brown  locks  shook  forth  per- 
fume. This  stately  decoration  boded,  at  all  events,  something 
else  than  flax-dealing.  Mother  Brigitta  started  in  alarm ;  she 
tried  to  speak,  but  words  failed  her.  Meta  rose  in  trepidation 
from  her  seat,  blushed  like  a  purple  rose,  and  was  silent.  Franz, 
however,  had  the  power  of  utterance ;  to  the  soft  adagio  which 
he  had  jn  former  days  trilled  forth  to  her,  he  now  appended  a 
suitable  text,  and  explained  his  dumb  love  in  clear  words.  There- 
upon he  made  solemn  application  for  her  to  the  mother ;  justi- 
fying his  proposal  by  the  statement,  that  the  preparations  in  his 
house  had  been  meant  for  the  reception  of  a  bride,  and  that  this 
bride  was  the  charming  Meta. 

The  pointed  old  lady,  having  brought  her  feelings  once  more 
into  equilibrium,  was  for  protracting  the  affair  to  the  customary 
term  of  eight  days  for  deliberation  ;  though  joyful  tears  were  run- 
ning down  her  cheeks,  presaging  no  impediment  on  her  side,  but 
rather  answer  of  approval.  Franz,  however,  was  so  pressing  in 
his  suit,  that  she  fell  upon  a  middle  path  between  the  wooer's 
ardour  and  maternal  use  and  wont,  and  empowered  the  gentle 
Meta  to  decide  in  the  affair  according  to  her  own  good  judgment. 
In  the  virgin  heart  there  had  occurred,  since  Franz's  entrance, 
an  important  revolution.  His  presence  here  was  the  most  speak- 
ing proof  of  his  innocence  ;  and  as,  in  the  course  of  conversation, 
it  distinctly  came  to  light,  that  his  apparent  coldness  had  been 
nothing  else  than  zeal  and  diligence  in  putting  his  commercial 
affairs  in  order,  and  preparing  what  was  necessary  for  the  coming 
nuptials,  it  followed  that  the  secret  reconciliation  would  proceed 
forthwith  without  any  stone  of  stumbling  in  its  way.  She  acted 
with  the  outlaw,  as  Mother  Brigitta  with  her  disposted  spinning 
gear,  or  the  First-born  Son  of  the  Church  with  an  exiled  Parlia- 
ment ;  recalled  him  with  honour  to  her  high-beating  heart,  and 
reinstated  him  in  all  his  former  rights  and  privileges  there.  The 
decisive  three-lettered  little  word,  that  ratifies  the  happiness  of 


DUMB  LOVE. 


55 


love,  came  gliding  with  such  unspeakable  grace  from  her  soft  lips, 
that  the  answered  lover  could  not  help  receiving  it  with  a  warm 
melting  kiss. 

The  tender  pair  had  now  time  and  opportunity  for  decipher- 
ing all  the  hieroglyphics  of  their  mysterious  love  ;  which  afforded 
the  most  pleasant  conversation  that  ever  two  lovers  carried  on. 
They  found,  what  our  commentators  ought  to  pray  for,  that  they 
had  always  understood  and  interpreted  the  text  aright,  without 
once  missing  the  true  sense  of  their  reciprocal  proceedings.  It 
cost  the  delighted  bridegroom  almost  as  great  an  effort  to  part 
from  his  charming  bride,  as  on  the  day  when  he  set  out  on  his 
crusade  to  Antwerp.  However,  he  had  an  important  walk  to 
take ;  so  at  last  it  became  time  to  withdraw. 

This  walk  was  directed  to  the  Weser-bridge,  to  find  Timber- 
toe,  whom  he  had  not  forgotten,  though  he  had  long  delayed  to 
keep  his  word  to  him.  Sharply  as  the  physiognomist,  ever  since 
his  interview  with  the  open-handed  Bridge -bailiff,  had  been  on 
the  outlook,  he  could  never  catch  a  glimpse  of  him  among  the 
passengers,  although  a  second  visit  had  been  faithfully  promised. 
Yet  the  figure  of  his  benefactor  had  not  vanished  from  his  me- 
mory. The  moment  he  perceived  the  fair- apparelled  youth  from 
a  distance,  he  stilted  towards  him,  and  gave  him  kindly  welcome. 
Franz  answered  his  salutation,  and  said :  "  Friend,  canst  thou 
take  a  walk  with  me  into  the  Neustadt,  to  transact  a  small  affair  ? 
Thy  trouble  shall  not  be  unpaid." 

"  Ah  !  why  not  ?"  replied  the  old  blade  ;  "  though  I  have  a 
wooden  leg,  I  can  step  you  with  it  as  stoutly  as  the  lame  dwarf 
that  crept  round  the  city-common;11  for  the  wooden  leg,  you  must 
know,  has  this  good  property,  it  never  tires.  But  excuse  me  a 
little  while  till  Graycloak  is  come  :  he  never  misses  to  pass  along 
the  Bridge  between  day  and  night." 

* 4  What  of  Graycloak  ?"  inquired  Franz  :  "  let  me  know  about 
him." 

"  Graycloak  brings  me  daily  about  nightfall  a  silver  groschen, 
I  know  not  from  whom.  It  is  of  no  use  prying  into  things,  so  I 
never  mind.  Sometimes  it  occurs  to  me  Graycloak  must  be  the 
devil,  and  means  to  buy  my  soul  with  the  money.    But  devil  or 

11  There  is  an  old  tradition,  that  a  neighhouring  Countess  promised  in  jest  to 
give  the  Bremers  as  much  land  as  a  cripple,  who  was  just  asking  her  for  alms, 
would  creep  round  in  a  day.  They  took  her  at  her  word ;  and  the  cripple  crawled 
so  well,  that  the  town  obtained  this  large  common  by  means  of  him. 


56 


MUS^US. 


no  devil,  what  care  I  ?  I  did  not  strike  him  on  the  bargain,  so 
it  cannot  hold." 

"I  should  not  wonder,"  answered  Franz,  with  a  smile,  "if 
Graycloak  were  a  piece  of  a  knave.  But  do  thou  follow  me  :  the 
silver  groschen  shall  not  fail  thee." 

Timbertoe  set  forth,  hitched  on  briskly  after  his  guide,  who 
conducted  him  up  one  street  and  down  another,  to  a  distant  quar- 
ter of  the  city,  near  the  wall ;  then  halted  before  a  neat  little 
new-built  house,  and  knocked  at  the  door.  When  it  was  opened  : 
"  Friend,"  said  he,  "  thou  madest  one  evening  of  my  life  cheerful ; 
it  is  just  that  I  should  make  the  evening  of  thy  life  cheerful  also. 
This  house,  with  its  appurtenances,  and  the  garden  where  it 
stands,  are  thine ;  kitchen  and  cellar  are  full ;  an  attendant  is 
appointed  to  wait  upon  thee ;  and  the  silver  groschen,  over  and 
above,  thou  wilt  find  every  noon  lying  under  thy  plate.  Nor  will 
I  hide  from  thee  that  Graycloak  was  my  servant,  whom  I  sent  to 
give  thee  daily  an  honourable  alms,  till  I  had  got  this  house  made 
ready  for  thee.  If  thou  like,  thou  mayest  reckon  me  thy  proper 
Guardian  Angel,  since  the  other  has  not  acted  to  thy  satisfaction." 

He  then  led  the  old  man  into  his  dwelling,  where  the  table 
was  standing  covered,  and  everything  arranged  for  his  conveni- 
ence and  comfortable  living.  The  grayhead  was  so  astonished  at 
his  fortune,  that  he  could  not  understand  or  even  believe  it.  That 
a  rich  man  should  take  such  pity  on  a  poor  one,  was  incompre- 
hensible :  he  felt  disposed  to  take  the  whole  affair  for  magic  or 
jugglery,  till  Franz  removed  his  doubts.  A  stream  of  thankful 
tears  flowed  down  the  old  man's  cheeks  ;  and  his  benefactor,  satis- 
fied with  this,  did  not  wait  till  he  should  recover  from  his  amaze- 
ment and  thank  him  in  words,  but,  after  doing  this  angel-message, 
vanished  from  the  old  man's  eyes,  as  angels  are  wont ;  and  left 
him  to  piece  together  the  affair  as  he  best  could. 

Next  morning,  in  the  habitation  of  the  lovely  Meta,  all  was 
as  a  fair.  Franz  dispatched  to  her  a  crowd  of  merchants,  jewel- 
lers, milliners,  lace-dealers,  tailors,  sutors  and  sempstresses,  in 
part  to  offer  her  all  sorts  of  wares,  in  part  their  own  good  ser- 
vices. She  passed  the  whole  day  in  choosing  stuffs,  laces  and 
other  requisites  for  the  condition  of  a  bride,  or  being  measured 
for  her  various  new  apparel.  The  dimensions  of  her  dainty  foot, 
her  beautifully-formed  arm,  and  her  slim  waist,  were  as  often  and 
as  carefully  meted,  as  if  some  skilful  statuary  had  been  taking 
froni  her  the  model  for  a  Goddess  of  Love.  Meanwhile  the  bride- 


DUMB  LOVE. 


57 


groom  went  to  appoint  the  bans ;  and  before  three  weeks  were 
past,  he  led  his  bride  to  the  altar,  with  a  solemnity  by  which 
even  the  gorgeous  wedding-pomp  of  the  Hop-King  was  eclipsed. 
Mother  Brigitta  had  the  happiness  of  twisting  the  bridal-garland 
for  her  virtuous  Meta  ;  she  completely  attained  her  wish  of 
spending  her  woman's -summer  in  propitious  affluence;  and  de- 
served this  satisfaction,  as  a  recompense  for  one  praiseworthy 
quality  which  she  possessed  :  She  was  the  most  tolerable  mother- 
in-law  that  has  ever  been  discovered. 


LIBUSSA.1 


Deep  in  the  Bohemian  forest,  which  has  now  dwindled  to  a  few 
scattered  woodlands,  there  abode,  in  the  primeval  times,  while  it 
stretched  its  umbrage  far  and  wide,  a  spiritual  race  of  beings,  airy 
and  avoiding  light,  incorporeal  also,  more  delicately  fashioned  than 
the  clay-formed  sons  of  men  ;  to  the  coarser  sense  of  feeling  im- 
perceptible, but  to  the  finer,  half- visible  by  moonlight ;  and  well 
known  to  poets  by  the  name  of  Dryads,  and  to  ancient  bards  by 
that  of  Elves.  From  immemorial  ages,  they  had  dwelt  here 
undisturbed  ;  till  all  at  once  the  forest  sounded  with  the  din  of 
warriors,  for  Duke  Czech  of  Hungary,  with  his  Sclavonic  hordes, 
had  broken  over  the  mountains,  to  seek  in  these  wild  tracts  a  new 
habitation.  The  fair  tenants  of  the  aged  oaks,  of  the  rocks,  clefts 
and  grottos,  and  of  the  flags  in  the  tarns  and  morasses,  fled  before 
the  clang  of  arms  and  the  neighing  of  chargers  :  the  stout  Erl- 
King  himself  was  annoyed  by  the  uproar,  and  transferred  his  court 
to  more  sequestered  wildernesses.  One  solitary  Elf  could  not 
resolve  to  leave  her  darling  oak ;  and  as  the  wood  began  here 
and  there  to  be  felled  for  the  purposes  of  cultivation,  she  alone 
undertook  to  defend  her  tree  against  the  violence  of  the  strangers, 
and  chose  the  towering  summit  of  it  for  her  residence. 

Among  the  retinue  of  the  Duke  was  a  young  Squire,  Krokus 
by  name,  full  of  spirit  and  impetuosity ;  stout  and  handsome,  and 
of  noble  mien,  to  whom  the  keeping  of  his  master's  stud  had  been 
entrusted,  which  at  times  he  drove  far  into  the  forest  for  their 

1  From  Jo.  Dubravii  Historia  Bohemica,  and  JSnece  Sylvii  Cardinalis  de 
Bohemarum  Origine  ac  Gestis  Historia. 


LIJBUSSA. 


59 


pasture.  Frequently  he  rested  beneath  the  oak  which  the  Elf  in- 
habited :  she  observed  him  with  satisfaction  ;  and  at  night,  when 
he  was  sleeping  at  the  root,  she  would  whisper  pleasant  dreams 
into  his  ear,  and  announce  to  him  in  expressive  images  the  events 
of  the  coming  day.  When  any  horse  had  strayed  into  the  desert, 
and  the  keeper  had  lost  its  tract,  and  gone  to  sleep  with  anxious 
thoughts,  he  failed  not  to  see  in  vision  the  marks  of  the  hidden 
path,  which  led  him  to  the  spot  where  his  lost  steed  was  grazing. 

The  farther  the  new  colonists  extended,  the  nearer  came  they 
to  the  dwelling  of  the  Elf ;  and  as  by  her  gift  of  divination,  she 
perceived  how  soon  her  life-tree  would  be  threatened  by  the  axe, 
she  determined  to  unfold  this  sorrow  to  her  guest.  One  moon- 
shiny  summer  evening,  Krokus  had  folded  his  herd  somewhat 
later  than  usual,  and  was  hastening  to  his  bed  under  the  lofty 
oak.  His  path  led  him  round  a  little  fishy  lake,  on  whose  silver 
face  the  moon  was  imaging  herself  like  a  gleaming  ball  of  gold  ; 
and  across  this  glittering  portion  of  the  water,  on  the  farther  side, 
he  perceived  a  female  form,  apparently  engaged  in  walking  by  the 
cool  shore.  This  sight  surprised  the  young  warrior  :  What  brings 
the  maiden  hither,  thought  he,  by  herself,  in  this  wilderness,  at 
the  season  of  the  nightly  dusk  ?  Yet  the  adventure  was  of  such 
a  sort,  that,  to  a  young  man,  the  more  strict  investigation  of  it 
seemed  alluring  rather  than  alarming.  He  redoubled  his  steps, 
keeping  firmly  in  view  the  form  which  had  arrested  his  attention ; 
and  soon  reached  the  place  where  he  had  first  noticed  it,  beneath 
the  oak.  But  now  it  looked  to  him  as  if  the  thing  he  saw  were 
a  shadow  rather  than  a  body  ;  he  stood  wondering  and  motion- 
less, a  cold  shudder  crept  over  him  ;  and  he  heard  a  sweet  soft 
voice  address  to  him  these  words :  "  Come  hither,  beloved  stranger, 
and  fear  not ;  I  am  no  phantasm,  no  deceitful  shadow  :  I  am  the 
Elf  of  this  grove,  the  tenant  of  the  oak,  under  whose  leafy  boughs 
thou  hast  often  rested.  I  rocked  thee  in  sweet  delighting  dreams, 
and  prefigured  to  thee  thy  adventures  ;  and  when  a  brood-mare 
or  a  foal  had  chanced  to  wander  from  the  herd,  I  told  thee  of  the 
place  where  thou  wouldst  find  it.  Repay  this  favour  by  a  service 
which  I  now  require  of  thee  ;  be  the  Protector  of  this  tree,  which 
has  so  often  screened  thee  from  the  shower  and  the  scorching 
heat ;  and  guard  the  murderous  axes  of  thy  brethren,  which  lay 
waste  the  forest,  that  they  harm  not  this  venerable  trunk." 

The  young  warrior,  restored  to  self-possession  by  this  soft  still 
voice,  made  answer  :  "  Goddess  or  mortal,  whoever  thou  mayesii 


60 


MUS^US. 


be,  require  of  me  what  thou  pleasest ;  if  I  can,  I  will  perform  it. 
But  I  am  a  man  of  no  account  among  my  people,  the  servant  of 
the  Duke  my  lord.  If  he  tell  me  today  or  tomorrow,  Feed  here, 
feed  there,  how  shall  I  protect  thy  tree  in  this  distant  forest  ?  Yet 
if  thou  commandest  me,  I  will  renounce  the  service  of  princes, 
and  dwell  under  the  shadow  of  thy  oak,  and  guard  it  while  I  live." 

"  Do  so,"  said  the  Elf :  "  thou  shalt  not  repent  it." 

Hereupon  she  vanished  ;  and  there  was  a  rustling  in  the 
branches  above,  as  if  some  breath  of  an  evening  breeze  had  been 
entangled  in  them,  and  had  stirred  the  leaves.  Krokus,  for  a 
while,  stood  enraptured  at  the  heavenly  form  which  had  appeared 
to  him.  So  soft  a  female,  of  such  slender  shape  and  royal  bear- 
ing, he  had  never  seen  among  the  short  squat  damsels  of  his  own 
Sclavonic  race.  At  last  he  stretched  himself  upon  the  moss,  but 
no  sleep  descended  on  his  eyes  ;  the  dawn  overtook  him  in  a 
whirl  of  sweet  emotions,  which  were  as  strange  and  new  to  him 
as  the  first  beam  of  light  to  the  opened  eye  of  one  born  blind. 
With  the  earliest  morning  he  hastened  to  the  Court  of  the  Duke, 
required  his  discharge,  packed  up  his  war-accoutrements,  and, 
with  rapid  steps,  his  burden  on  his  shoulders,  and  his  head  full 
of  glowing  enthusiasm,  hied  him  back  to  his  enchanted  forest- 
hermitage. 

Meanwhile,  in  his  absence,  a  craftsman  among  the  people,  a 
miller  by  trade,  had  selected  for  himself  the  round  straight  trunk 
of  the  oak  to  be  an  axle,  and  was  proceeding  with  his  mill-men 
to  fell  it.  The  affrighted  Elf  sobbed  bitterly,  as  the  greedy  saw 
began  with  iron  tooth  to  devour  the  foundations  of  her  dwelling. 
She  looked  wildly  round,  from  the  highest  summit,  for  her  faithful 
guardian,  but  her  glance  could  find  him  nowhere ;  and  the  gift  of 
prophecy,  peculiar  to  her  race,  was  in  the  present  case  so  ineffec- 
tual, that  she  could  as  little  read  the  fate  that  stood  before  her, 
as  the  sons  of  iEsculapius,  with  their  vaunted  prognosis,  can  dis- 
cover ways  and  means  for  themselves  when  Death  is  knocking  at 
their  own  door. 

Krokus,  however,  was  approaching,  and  so  near  the  scene  of 
this  catastrophe,  that  the  screeching  of  the  busy  saw  did  not 
escape  his  ear.  Such  a  sound  in  the  forest  boded  no  good :  he 
quickened  his  steps,  and  beheld  before  his  eyes  the  horror  of  the 
devastation  that  was  visiting  the  tree  which  he  had  taken  under 
his  protection.  Like  a  fury  he  rushed  upon  the  wood-cutters, 
with  pike  and  sword,  and  scared  them  from  their  work ;  for  they 


LIBUSSA. 


61 


\  concluded  he  must  be  a  forest-demon,  and  fled  in  great  precipita- 
tion. By  good  fortune,  the  wound  of  the  tree  was  still  curable ; 
and  the  scar  of  it  disappeared  in  a  few  summers. 

In  the  solemn  hour  of  evening,  when  the  stranger  had  fixed 
upon  the  spot  for  his  future  habitation ;  had  meted  out  the  space 
for  hedging  round  as  a  garden,  and  was  weighing  in  his  mind  the 
whole  scheme  of  his  future  hermitage ;  where,  in  retirement  from 
the  society  of  men,  he  purposed  to  pass  his  days  in  the  service  of 
a  shadowy  companion,  possessed  apparently  of  little  more  reality 
than  a  Saint  of  the  Calendar,  whom  a  pious  friar  chooses  for  his 
spiritual  paramour, — the  Elf  appeared  before  him  at  the  brink  of 
the  lake,  and  with  gentle  looks  thus  spoke  : 

"  Thanks  to  thee,  beloved  stranger,  that  thou  hast  turned 
away  the  wasteful  arms  of  thy  brethren  from  ruining  this  tree, 
with  which  my  life  is  united.  For  thou  shalt  know  that  Mother 
Nature,  who  has  granted  to  my  race  such  varied  powers  and  in- 
fluences, has  combined  the  fortune  of  our  life  with  the  growth 
and  duration  of  the  oak.  By  us  the  sovereign  of  the  forest  raises 
his  venerable  head  above  the  populace  of  other  trees  and  shrubs  ; 
we  further  the  circulation  of  the  sap  through  his  trunk  and  boughs, 
that  he  may  gain  strength  to  battle  with  the  tempest,  and  for  long 
centuries  to  defy  destructive  Time.  On  the  other  hand,  our  life 
is  bound  to  his  :  when  the  oak,  which  the  lot  of  Destiny  has  ap- 
pointed for  the  partner  of  our  existence,  fades  by  years,  we  fade 
along  with  him;  and  when  he  dies,  we  die,  and  sleep,  like  mortals, 
as  it  were  a  sort  of  death-sleep,  till,  by  the  everlasting  cycle  of 
things,  Chance,  or  some  hidden  provision  of  Nature,  again  weds 
our  being  to  a  new  germ  ;  which,  unfolded  by  our  enlivening 
virtue,  after  the  lapse  of  long  years,  springs  up  to  be  a  mighty 
tree,  and  affords  us  the  enjoyment  of  existence  anew.  From  this 
thou  mayest  perceive  what  a  service  thou  hast  done  me  by  thy 
help,  and  what  gratitude  I  owe  thee.  Ask  of  me  the  recompense 
of  thy  noble  deed ;  disclose  to  me  the  wish  of  thy  heart,  and  this 
hour  it  shall  be  granted  thee." 

Krokus  continued  silent.  The  sight  of  the  enchanting  Elf 
had  made  more  impression  on  him  than  her  speech,  of  which, 
indeed,  he  understood  but  little.  She  noticed  his  embarrass- 
ment ;  and,  to  extricate  him  from  it,  plucked  a  withered  reed 
from  the  margin  of  the  lake,  broke  it  into  three  pieces,  and  said  : 
' '  Choose  one  of  these  three  stalks,  or  take  one  without  a  choice. 
In  the  first,  lie  Honour  and  Kenown ;  in  the  second.  Riches  and 


62 


MUSJEUS. 


the  wise  enjoyment  of  them ;  in  the  third  is  happiness  in  Love 
laid  up  for  thee." 

The  young  man  cast  his  eyes  upon  the  ground,  and  answered  : 
"Daughter  of  Heaven,  if  thou  wouldst  deign  to  grant  the  desire 
of  my  heart,  know  that  it  lies  not  in  these  three  stalks  which 
thou  offerest  me ;  the  recompense  I  aim  at  is  higher.  What  is 
Honour  but  the  fuel  of  Pride  ?  what  are  Riches  but  the  root  of 
Avarice  ?  and  what  is  Love  but  the  trap-door  of  Passion,  to  en- 
snare the  noble  freedom  of  the  heart  ?  Grant  me  my  wish,  to 
rest  under  the  shadow  of  thy  oak-tree  from  the  toils  of  warfare, 
and  to  hear  from  thy  sweet  mouth  the  lessons  of  wisdom,  that  I 
may  understand  by  them  the  secrets  of  the  future." 

"  Thy  request,"  replied  the  Elf,  "is  great ;  but  thy  deserving 
toward  me  is  not  less  so  :  be  it  then  as  thou  hast  asked.  Nor, 
with  the  fruit,  shall  the  shell  be  wanting  to  thee ;  for  the  wise 
man  is  also  honoured ;  he  alone  is  rich,  for  he  desires  nothing 
more  than  he  needs,  and  he  tastes  the  pure  nectar  of  Love  with- 
out poisoning  it  by  polluted  lips." 

So  saying,  she  again  presented  him  the  three  reed-stalks, 
and  vanished  from  his  sight. 

The  young  Eremite  prepared  his  bed  of  moss,  beneath  the 
oak,  exceedingly  content  with  the  reception  which  the  Elf  had 
given  him.  Sleep  came  upon  him  like  a  strong  man ;  gay  morn- 
ing dreams  danced  round  his  head,  and  solaced  his  fancy  with 
the  breath  of  happy  forebodings.  On  awakening,  he  joyfully  be- 
gan his  day's  work ;  ere  long  he  had  built  himself  a  pleasant 
hermit's- cottage ;  had  dug  his  garden,  and  planted  in  it  roses 
and  lilies,  with  other  odoriferous  flowers  and  herbs ;  not  forget- 
ting pulse  and  cole,  and  a  sufficiency  of  fruit-trees.  The  Elf 
never  failed  to  visit  him  at  twilight ;  she  rejoiced  in  the  prosper- 
ing of  his  labours ;  walked  with  him,  hand  in  hand,  by  the  sedgy 
border  of  the  lake  ;  and  the  wavering  reeds,  as  the  wind  passed 
through  them,  whispered  a  melodious  evening  salutation  to  the 
trustful  pair.  She  instructed  her  attentive  disciple  in  the  secrets 
of  Nature  ;  showed  him  the  origin  and  causes  of  things  ;  taught 
him  their  common  and  their  magic  properties  and  effects ;  and 
formed  the  rude  soldier  into  a  thinker  and  philosopher. 

In  proportion  as  the  feelings  and  senses  of  the  young  man 
grew  renned  by  this  fair  spiritual  intercourse,  it  seemed  as  if  the 
tender  form  of  the  Elf  were  condensing,  and  acquiring  more  con- 
sistency ;  her  bosom  caught  warmth  and  life ;  her  brown  eyes 


LIBUSSA. 


63 


sparkled  with  the  fire  of  love ;  and  with  the  shape,  she  appeared 
to  have  adopted  the  feelings  of  a  young  blooming  maiden.  The 
sentimental  hour  of  dusk,  which  is  as  if  expressly  calculated  to 
awaken  slumbering  feelings,  had  its  usual  effect ;  and  after  a  few 
moons  from  their  first  acquaintance,  the  sighing  Krokus  found 
himself  possessed  of  the  happiness  in  Love,  which  the  Third 
Reed-stalk  had  appointed  him ;  and  did  not  repent  that  by  the 
trap-door  of  Passion  the  freedom  of  his  heart  had  been  ensnared. 
Though  the  marriage  of  the  tender  pair  took  place  without  wit- 
nesses, it  was  celebrated  with  as  much  enjoyment  as  the  most 
tumultuous  espousal;  nor  were  speaking  proofs  of  love's  recom- 
pense long  wanting.  The  Elf  gave  her  husband  three  daughters 
at  a  birth ;  and  the  father,  rejoicing  in  the  bounty  of  his  better 
half,  named,  at  the  first  embrace,  the  eldest  infant,  Bela ;  the 
next  born,  Therba ;  and  the  youngest,  Libussa.  They  were  all 
like  the  Genies  in  beauty  of  form ;  and  though  not  moulded  of 
such  light  materials  as  the  mother,  their  corporeal  structure  was 
finer  than  the  dull  earthy  clay  of  the  father.  They  were  also  free 
from  all  the  infirmities  of  childhood ;  their  swathings  did  not  gall 
them ;  they  teethed  without  epileptic  fits,  needed  no  calomel  taken 
inwardly,  got  no  rickets  ;  had  no  small-pox,  and,  of  course,  no 
scars,  no  scum-eyes,  or  puckered  faces  :  nor  did  they  require  any 
leading-strings ;  for  after  the  first  nine  days,  they  ran  like  little 
partridges ;  and  as  they  grew  up,  they  manifested  all  the  talents 
of  the  mother  for  discovering  hidden  things,  and  predicting  what 
was  future. 

Krokus  himself,  by  the  aid  of  time,  grew  skilful  in  these  mys- 
teries also.  When  the  wolf  had  scattered  the  flocks  through  the 
forest,  and  the  herdsmen  were  seeking  for  their  sheep  and  horses ; 
when  the  woodman  missed  an  axe  or  bill,  they  took  counsel  from 
the  wise  Krokus,  who  showed  them  where  to  find  what  they  had 
lost.  When  a  wicked  prowler  had  abstracted  aught  from  the 
common  stock ;  had  by  night  broken  into  the  pinfold,  or  the 
dwelling  of  his  neighbour,  and  robbed  or  slain  him,  and  none 
could  guess  the  malefactor,  the  wise  Krokus  was  consulted.  He 
led  the  people  to  a  green ;  made  them  form  a  ring ;  then  stept 
into  the  midst  of  them,  set  the  faithful  sieve  a-running,  and  so 
failed  not  to  discover  the  misdoer.  By  such  acts  his  fame  spread 
over  all  the  country  of  Bohemia  ;  and  whoever  had  a  weighty  care, 
or  an  important  undertaking,  took  counsel  from  the  wise  Krokus 
about  its  issue,    The  lame  and  the  sick,  too,  required  from  him 


64 


MUS^US. 


help  and  recovery;  even  the  unsound  cattle  of  the  fold  were  driven 
to  him ;  and  his  gift  of  curing  sick  kine  by  his  shadow,  was  not 
less  than  that  of  the  renowned  St.  Martin  of  Schierbach.  By 
these  means  the  concourse  of  the  people  to  him  grew  more  fre- 
quent, day  by  day,  no  otherwise  than  if  the  Tripod  of  the  Delphic 
Apollo  had  been  transferred  to  the  Bohemian  forest :  and  though 
Krokus  answered  all  inquiries,  and  cured  the  sick  and  afflicted, 
without  fee  or  reward,  yet  the  treasure  of  his  secret  wisdom  paid 
him  richly,  and  brought  him  in  abundant  profit ;  the  people 
crowded  to  him  with  gifts  and  presents,  and  almost  oppressed 
him  with  testimonies  of  their  good-will.  It  was  he  that  first 
disclosed  the  mystery  of  washing  gold  from  the  sands  of  the  Elbe ; 
and  for  his  recompense  he  had  a  tenth  of  all  the  produce.  By 
these  means  his  wealth  and  store  increased ;  he  built  strongholds 
and  palaces ;  had  vast  herds  of  cattle  ;  possessed  fertile  pastur- 
ages, fields  and  woods ;  and  thus  found  himself  imperceptibly 
possessed  of  all  the  Kiches  which  the  beneficently  foreboding  Elf 
had  enclosed  for  him  in  the  Second  Reed. 

One  fine  summer  evening,  when  Krokus  with  his  train  was 
returning  from  an  excursion,  having  by  special  request  been  set- 
tling the  disputed  marches  of  two  townships,  he  perceived  his 
spouse  on  the  margin  of  the  sedgy  lake,  where  she  had  first  ap- 
peared to  him.  She  waved  him  with  her  hand ;  so  he  dismissed 
his  servants,  and  hastened  to  clasp  her  in  his  arms.  She  received 
him,  as  usual,  with  tender  love ;  but  her  heart  was  sad  and  op- 
pressed ;  from  her  eyes  trickled  down  ethereal  tears,  so  fine  and 
fugitive,  that  as  they  fell  they  were  greedily  inhaled  by  the  air, 
and  not  allowed  to  reach  the  ground.  Krokus  was  alarmed  at 
this  appearance ;  he  had  never  seen  his  wife's  fair  eyes  otherwise 
than  cheerful,  and  sparkling  with  youthful  gaiety.  ' 'What  ails 
thee,  beloved  of  my  heart?"  said  he;  "black  forebodings  over- 
cast my  soul.    Speak,  say  what  mean  those  tears." 

The  Elf  sobbed,  leaned  her  head  sorrowfully  on  his  shoulder, 
and  said  :  "  Beloved  husband,  in  thy  absence  I  have  looked  into 
the  Book  of  Destiny ;  a  doleful  chance  overhangs  my  life-tree ;  I 
must  part  from  thee  forever.  Follow  me  into  the  Castle,  till  I 
bless  my  children ;  for  from  this  day  you  will  never  see  me  more." 

"Dearest  wife,"  said  Krokus,  "chase  away  these  mournful 
thoughts.  What  misfortune  is  it  that  can  harm  thy  tree  ?  Be- 
hold its  sound  boughs,  how  they  stretch  forth  loaded  with  fruit 
and  leaves,  and  how  it  raises  its  top  to  the  clouds.    While  this 


LIBUSSA. 


65 


arm  can  move,  it  shall  defend  thy  tree  from  any  miscreant  that 
presumes  to  wound  its  stem." 

"  Impotent  defence,"  replied  she,  "  which  a  mortal  arm  can 
yield  !  Ants  can  but  secure  themselves  from  ants,  flies  from  flies, 
and  the  worms  of  Earth  from  other  earthly  worms.  But  what  can 
the  mightiest  among  you  do  against  the  workings  of  Nature,  or 
the  unalterable  decisions  of  Fate  ?  The  kings  of  the  Earth  can 
heap  up  little  hillocks,  which  they  name  fortresses  and  castles ; 
but  the  weakest  breath  of  air  defies  their  authority,  blows  where 
it  lists,  and  mocks  at  their  command.  This  oak-tree  thou  hast 
guarded  from  the  violence  of  men  ;  canst  thou  likewise  forbid  the 
tempest  that  it  rise  not  to  disleaf  its  branches ;  or  if  a  hidden 
worm  is  gnawing  in  its  marrow,  canst  thou  draw  it  out,  and  tread 
it  under  foot  ?" 

Amid  such  conversation  they  arrived  at  the  Castle.  The 
slender  maidens,  as  they  were  wont  at  the  evening  visit  of  their 
mother,  came  bounding  forth  to  meet  them ;  gave  account  of  their 
day's  employments,  produced  their  needlework,  and  their  embroid- 
eries, to  prove  their  diligence  :  but  now  the  hour  of  household  hap- 
piness was  joyless.  They  soon  observed  that  the  traces  of  deep 
suffering  were  imprinted  on  the  countenance  of  their  father ;  and 
they  looked  with  sympathising  sorrow  at  their  mother's  tears, 
without  venturing  to  inquire  their  cause.  The  mother  gave  them 
many  wise  instructions  and  wholesome  admonitions  ;  but  her 
speech  was  like  the  singing  of  a  swan,  as  if  she  wished  to  give 
the  world  her  farewell.  She  lingered  with  her  husband,  till  the 
morning-star  went  up  in  the  sky ;  then  she  embraced  him  and 
her  children  with  mournful  tenderness ;  and  at  dawn  of  day  re- 
tired, as  was  her  custom,  through  the  secret  door,  to  her  oak-tree, 
and  left  her  friends  to  their  own  sad  forebodings. 

Nature  stood  in  listening  stillness  at  the  rising  sun  ;  but 
heavy  black  clouds  soon  veiled  his  beaming  head.  The  day 
grew  sultry  and  oppressive ;  the  whole  atmosphere  was  electric. 
Distant  thunder  came  rolling  over  the  forest ;  and  the  hundred- 
voiced  Echo  repeated,  in  the  winding  valleys,  its  baleful  sound. 
At  the  noontide,  a  forked  thunderbolt  struck  quivering  down 
upon  the  oak ;  and  in  a  moment  shivered  with  resistless  force  the 
trunk  and  boughs,  and  the  wreck  lay  scattered  far  around  it  in 
the  forest.  When  Father  Krokus  was  informed  of  this,  he  rent 
his  garments,  went  forth  with  his  daughters  to  deplore  the  life- 
tree  of  his  spouse,  and  to  collect  the  fragments  of  it,  and  preserve 

VOL.  III.  J? 


66 


MUS^US. 


them  as  invaluable  relics.  But  the  Elf  from  that  day  was  not 
seen  any  more. 

In  some  few  years,  the  tender  girls  had  waxed  in  stature ; 
their  maiden  forms  blossomed  forth,  as  the  rose  pushing  up  from 
the  bud ;  and  the  fame  of  their  beauty  spread  abroad  over  all  the 
land.  The  noblest  youths  of  the  people  crowded  round,  with 
cases  to  submit  to  Father  Krokus  for  his  counsel ;  but  at  bottom, 
these  their  specious  pretexts  were  directed  to  the  fair  maidens, 
whom  they  wished  to  get  a  glimpse  of;  as  is  the  mode  with 
young  men,  who  delight  to  have  some  business  with  the  master 
of  the  household,  when  his  daughters  are  beautiful.  The  three 
sisters  lived  in  great  simplicity  and  unity  together;  as  yet  but 
little  conscious  of  their  talents.  The  gift  of  prophecy  had  been 
communicated  to  them  in  an  equal  degree ;  and  all  their  words 
were  oracles,  although  they  knew  it  not.  Yet  soon  their  vanity 
awoke  at  the  voice  of  flattery ;  word  -  catchers  eagerly  laid  hold 
of  every  sound  proceeding  from  their  lips ;  Celadons  noted  down 
every  look,  spied  out  the  faintest  smile,  explored  the  aspect  of 
their  eyes,  and  drew  from  it  more  or  less  favourable  prognostics, 
conceiving  that  their  own  destiny  was  to  be  read  by  means  of  it ; 
and  from  this  time,  it  has  become  the  mode  with  lovers  to  deduce 
from  the  horoscope  of  the  eyes  the  rising  or  declining  of  their  star 
in  courtship.  Scarcely  had  Vanity  obtained  a  footing  in  the  virgin 
heart,  till  Pride,  her  dear  confidante,  with  her  wicked  rabble  of  a 
train,  Self-love,  Self-praise,  Self-will,  Self-interest,  were  standing 
at  the  door ;  and  all  of  them  in  time  sneaked  in.  The  elder 
sisters  struggled  to  outdo  the  younger  in  their  arts  ;  and  envied 
her  in  secret  her  superiority  in  personal  attractions.  For  though 
they  all  were  very  beautiful,  the  youngest  was  the  most  so.  Frau- 
lein  Bela  turned  her  chief  attention  to  the  science  of  plants ;  as 
Fraulein  Medea  did  in  earlier  times.  She  knew  their  hidden 
virtues,  could  extract  from  them  poisons  and  antidotes ;  and  far- 
ther, understood  the  art  of  making  from  them  sweet  or  nauseous 
odours  for  the  unseen  Powers.  When  her  censer  steamed,  she 
allured  to  her  Spirits  out  of  the  immeasurable  depth  of  aether, 
from  beyond  the  Moon,  and  they  became  her  subjects,  that  with 
their  fine  organs  they  might  be  allowed  to  snuff  these  delicious 
vapours :  and  when  she  scattered  villanous  perfumes  upon  the 
coals,  she  could  have  smoked  away  with  it  the  very  Zihim  and  the 
Ohim  from  the  Wilderness. 

Fraulein  Therba  was  inventive  as  Circe  in  devising  magic  for' 


LIBUSSA. 


67 


mulas,  which  could  command  the  elements,  could  raise  tempests 
and  whirlwinds,  also  hail  and  thunder;  could  shake  the  bowels  of 
the  Earth,  or  lift  itself  from  the  sockets  of  its  axle.  She  employed 
these  arts  to  terrify  the  people,  and  be  feared  and  honoured  by 
them  as  a  goddess  ;  and  she  could,  in  fact,  arrange  the  weather 
more  according  to  the  wish  and  taste  of  men  than  wise  old  Nature 
does.  Two  brothers  quarrelled  on  this  subject,  for  their  wishes 
never  were  the  same.  The  one  was  a  husbandman,  and  still 
desired  rain  for  the  growth  and  strengthening  of  his  crops.  The 
other  was  a  potter,  and  desired  constant  sunshine  to  dry  his 
dishes,  which  the  rain  destroyed.  And  as  Heaven  never  could 
content  them  in  disposing  of  this  matter,  they  repaired  one  day 
with  rich  presents  to  the  Castle  of  the  wise  Krokus ;  and  sub- 
mitted their  petitions  to  Therba.  The  daughter  of  the  Elf  gave 
a  smile  over  their  unquiet  grumbling  at  the  wise  economy  of 
Nature ;  and  contented  the  demands  of  each :  she  made  rain  fall 
on  the  seed-lands  of  the  cultivator  ;  and  the  sun  shone  on  the 
potter-field  close  by.  By  these  enchantments  both  the  sisters 
gained  much  fame  and  riches,  for  they  never  used  their  gifts 
without  a  fee.  With  their  treasures  they  built  castles  and 
country-houses ;  laid  out  royal  pleasure-gardens ;  to  their  festi- 
vals and  divertisements  there  was  no  end.  The  gallants,  who 
solicited  their  love,  they  gulled  and  laughed  at. 

Fraulein  Libussa  was  no  sharer  in  the  vain  proud  disposition 
of  her  sisters.  Though  she  had  the  same  capacities  for  penetrat- 
ing the  secrets  of  Nature,  and  employing  its  hidden  powers  in  her 
service,  she  remained  contented  with  the  gifts  she  had  derived 
from  her  maternal  inheritance,  without  attempting  to  increase 
them,  or  turn  them  to  a  source  of  gain.  Her  vanity  extended  not 
beyond  the  consciousness  that  she  was  beautiful ;  she  cared  not 
for  riches ;  and  neither  longed  to  be  feared  nor  to  be  honoured 
like  her  sisters.  Whilst  these  were  gadding  up  and  down  among 
their  country-houses,  hastening  from  one  tumultuous  pleasure  to 
another,  with  the  flower  of  the  Bohemian  chivalry  fettered  to 
their  chariot-wheels,  she  abode  in  her  father's  house,  conducting 
the  economy,  giving  counsel  to  those  who  begged  it,  friendly 
help  to  the  afflicted  and  oppressed;  and  all  from  good-will,  with- 
out remuneration.2    Her  temper  was  soft  and  modest,  and  her 

8  Nulla  Crocco  virilis  sexus  proles  fuit,  sed  moriturus  tres  a  morte  sua  filias 
superstites  reliquit,  omnes  ut  ipse  erat  fatidicas,  vel  magas  potius,  qualis  Medea 
tt  Circe  fuerant.    Nam  Bela  natu  filiarum  maxima  herbis  incantandis  Medeam 


68 


MUS^UB. 


conduct  virtuous  and  discreet,  as  beseems  a  noble  virgin.  She 
might  secretly  rejoice  in  the  victories  which  her  beauty  gained 
over  the  hearts  of  men,  and  accept  the  sighing  and  cooing  of  her  - 
languishing  adorers  as  a  just  tribute  to  her  charms;  but  none 
dared  speak  a  word  of  love  to  her,  or  venture  on  aspiring  to  her 
heart.  Yet  Amor,  the  roguish  urchin,  takes  a  pleasure  in  exert- 
ing his  privileges  on  the  coy ;  and  often  hurls  his  burning  torch 
upon  the  lowly  straw-roof,  when  he  means  to  set  on  fire  a  lofty 
palace. 

Far  in  the  bosom  of  the  forest  lived  an  ancient  Knight,  who 
had  come  into  the  land  with  the  host  of  Czech.  In  this  seclusion 
he  had  fixed  his  settlement;  reduced  the  desert  under  cultivation, 
and  formed  for  himself  a  small  estate,  where  he  thought  to  pass 
the  remainder  of  his  days  in  peace,  and  live  upon  the  produce  of 
his  husbandry.  A  strong-handed  neighbour  took  forcible  posses- 
sion of  the  land,  and  expelled  the  owner,  whom  a  hospitable  pea- 
sant sheltered  in  his  dwelling.  The  distressed  old  Knight  had  a 
son,  who  now  formed  the  sole  consolation  and  support  of  his  age; 
a  bold  active  youth,  but  possessed  of  nothing  save  a  hunting- 
spear  and  a  practised  arm,  for  the  sustenance  of  his  gray-haired 
father.  The  injustice  of  their  neighbour  stimulated  him  to  re- 
venge, and  he  had  been  prepared  for  resisting  force  by  force;  but 
the  command  of  the  anxious  father,  unwilling  to  expose  his  son  to 
danger,  had  disarmed  him.  Yet  ere  long  he  resumed  his  former 
purpose.   Then  the  father  called  him  to  his  presence,  and  said : 

"  Pass  over,  my  son,  to  the  wise  Krokus,  or  to  the  cunning 
virgins  his  daughters,  and  ask  counsel  whether  the  gods  approve 
thy  undertaking,  and  will  grant  it  a  prosperous  issue.  If  so,  gird 
on  thy  sword,  and  take  the  spear  in  thy  hand,  and  go  forth  to 
fight  for  thy  inheritance.  If  not,  stay  here  till  thou  hast  closed 
my  eyes  and  laid  me  in  the  earth  ;  then  do  what  shall  seem 
good  to  thee." 

The  youth  set  forth,  and  first  reached  Bela's  palace,  a  build- 


imitabatur,  Tetcha  (T  herb  a)  natu  minor  carminibus  magicis  Circem  reddebat. 
Ad  utramque  frequens  multitudinis  concursus;  dum  alii  amoves  sibi  conciliare, 
alii  cum  bond  valetudine  in  gratiam  redire,  alii  res  amissas  recuperare  cupiunt. 
Ilia  arcem  Belinam,  hcec  altera  arcem  Thetin  ex  mercenarid  pecunid,  nihil  enim 
gratuito  faciebant,  cedijicandam  curavit.  Liber alior  in  hac  re  Lybussa  natu 
minima  apparuit,  ut  qucs  a  nemine  quidquam  extorquebat,  et  potius  fata  publica 
omnibus,  quam  privata  singulis, prcecinebat :  qua  liberalitate,  et  quia  non  gratuitd 
solum  sed  etiam  minus  fallace  prcedictione  utebatur,  assecuta  est  ut  in  locum  patris 
Crocci  subrogaretur. — Dubkavius. 


LIBUSSA. 


69 


ing  like  a  temple  for  the  habitation  of  a  goddess.  He  knocked  at 
the  door,  and  desired  to  be  admitted ;  but  the  porter  observing 
that  he  came  empty-handed,  dismissed  him  as  a  beggar,  and  shut 
the  door  in  his  face.  He  went  forward  in  sadness,  and  reached 
the  house  of  sister  Therba,  where  he  knocked  and  requested  an 
audience.  The  porter  looked  upon  him  through  his  window,  and 
said  :  "  If  thou  bringest  gold  in  thy  bag,  which  thou  canst  weigh 
out  to  my  mistress,  she  will  teach  thee  one  of  her  good  saws  to 
read  thy  fortune  withal.  If  not,  then  go  and  gather  of  it  in  the 
sands  of  the  Elbe  as  many  grains  as  the  tree  hath  leaves,  the 
sheaf  ears,  and  the  bird  feathers,  then  will  I  open  thee  this  gate." 
The  mocked  young  man  glided  off  entirely  dejected  ;  and  the  more 
so,  as  he  learned  that  Seer  Krokus  was  in  Poland,  arbitrating  the 
disputes  of  some  contending  Grandees.  He  anticipated  from  the 
third  sister  no  more  flattering  reception ;  and  as  he  descried  her 
father's  castle  from  a  hill  in  the  distance,  he  could  not  venture 
to  approach  it,  but  hid  himself  in  a  thicket  to  pursue  his  bitter 
thoughts.  Ere  long  he  was  roused  by  an  approaching  noise  ;  he 
listened,  and  heard  a  sound  of  horses'  hoofs.  A  flying  roe  dashed 
through  the  bushes,  followed  by  a  lovely  huntress  and  her  maids 
on  stately  steeds.  She  hurled  a  javelin  from  her  hand  ;  it  flew 
whizzing  through  the  air,  but  did  not  hit  the  game.  Instantly 
the  watchful  young  man  seized  his  bow,  and  launched  from  the 
twanging  cord  a  bolt,  which  smote  the  deer  through  the  heart, 
and  stretched  it  lifeless  on  the  spot.  The  lady,  in  astonishment 
at  this  phenomenon,  looked  round  to  find  her  unknown  hunting 
partner :  and  the  archer,  on  observing  this,  stept  forward  from 
his  bush,  and  bent  himself  humbly  before  her  to  the  ground. 
Fraulein  Libussa  thought  she  had  never  seen  a  finer  man.  At 
the  first  glance,  his  figure  made  so  deep  an  impression  on  her, 
that  she  could  not  but  award  him  that  involuntary  feeling  of  good- 
will, which  a  beautiful  appearance  claims  as  its  prerogative.  4 '  Tell 
me,  fair  stranger,"  said  she  to  him,  ' 'who  art  thou,  and  what 
chance  is  it  that  leads  thee  to  these  groves  ?"  The  youth  guessed 
rightly  that  his  lucky  star  had  brought  him  what  he  was  in  search 
of ;  he  disclosed  his  case  to  her  in  modest  words ;  not  hiding  how 
disgracefully  her  sisters  had  dismissed  him,  or  how  the  treatment 
had  afflicted  him.  She  cheered  his  heart  with  friendly  words. 
"  Follow  me  to  my  abode,"  said  she  ;  "  I  will  consult  the  Book 
of  Fate  for  thee,  and  answer  thy  demand  tomorrow  by  the  rising 
of  the  sun." 


70 


MUS^EUS. 


The  young  man  did  as  he  was  ordered.  No  churlish  porter 
here  barred  for  him  the  entrance  of  the  palace ;  the  fair  lady  ex- 
ercised the  rights  of  hospitality  with  generous  attention.  He  was 
charmed  by  this  benignant  reception,  but  still  more  by  the  beauty 
of  his  gentle  hostess.  Her  enchanting  figure  hovered  all  night 
before  his  eyes ;  he  carefully  defended  himself  from  sleep,  that 
he  might  not  for  a  moment  lose  from  his  thoughts  the  delightful 
events  of  the  day.  Fraulein  Libussa,  on  the  contrary,  enjoyed  soft 
slumber  :  for  seclusion  from  the  influences  of  the  external  senses, 
which  disturb  the  finer  presentiments  of  the  future,  is  an  indis- 
pensable condition  for  the  gift  of  prophecy.  The  glowing  fancy 
of  the  maiden  blended  the  form  of  this  young  stranger  with  all 
the  dreaming  images  which  hovered  through  her  mind  that  night. 
She  found  him  where  she  had  not  looked  for  him,  in  connexion 
with  affairs  in  which  she  could  not  understand  how  this  unknown 
youth  had  come  to  be  involved. 

On  her  early  awakening,  at  the  hour  when  the  fair  prophetess 
was  wont  to  separate  and  interpret  the  visions  of  the  night,  she 
felt  inclined  to  cast  away  these  phantasms  from  her  mind,  as 
errors  which  had  sprung  from  a  disturbance  in  the  operation  of 
her  prophetic  faculty,  and  were  entitled  to  no  heed  from  her.  Yet 
a  dim  feeling  signified  that  this  creation  of  her  fancy  was  not  idle 
dreaming ;  but  had  a  significant  allusion  to  certain  events  which 
the  future  would  unravel;  and  that  last  night  this  presaging 
Fantasy  had  spied  out  the  decrees  of  Fate,  and  blabbed  them  to 
her,  more  successfully  than  ever.  By  help  of  it,  she  found  that 
her  guest  was  inflamed  with  warm  love  to  her ;  and  with  equal 
honesty  her  heart  confessed  the  same  thing  in  regard  to  him. 
But  she  instantly  impressed  the  seal  of  silence  on  the  news ;  as 
the  modest  youth  had,  on  his  side,  set  a  guard  upon  his  lips  and 
his  eyes,  that  he  might  not  expose  himself  to  a  contemptuous 
refusal;  for  the  chasm  which  Fortune  had  interposed  between 
him  and  the  daughter  of  the  wise  Krokus  seemed  impassable. 

Although  the  fair  Libussa  well  knew  what  she  had  to  say  in 
answer  to  the  young  man's  question,  yet  it  went  against  her  heart 
to  let  him  go  from  her  so  soon.  At  sunrise  she  called  him  to 
her  in  her  garden,  and  said  :  "  The  curtain  of  darkness  yet  hangs 
before  my  eyes;  abide  with  me  till  sunset;"  and  at  night  she 
said:  ce  Stay  till  sunrise;"  and  next  morning:  "Wait  another 
day;"  and  the  third  day:  "Have  patience  till  tomorrow."  On 
the  fourth  day  she  at  last  dismissed  him ;  finding  no  more  pre- 


LIBUSSA. 


71 


texts  for  detaining  him,  with  safety  to  her  secret.  At  parting, 
she  gave  him  his  response  in  friendly  words  :  "  The  gods  will  not 
that  thou  shouldst  contend  with  a  man  of  violence  in  the  land  ;  to 
hear  and  suffer  is  the  lot  of  the  weaker.  Keturn  to  thy  father ; 
he  the  comfort  of  his  old  age ;  and  support  him  hy  the  labour  of 
thy  diligent  hand.  Take  two  white  Steers  as  a  present  from  my 
herd ;  and  this  Staff  to  drive  them ;  and  when  it  blossoms  and 
bears  fruit,  the  spirit  of  prophecy  will  descend  on  thee." 

The  young  man  felt  himself  unworthy  of  the  gentle  virgin's 
gift ;  and  blushed  that  he  should  receive  it  and  make  no  return. 
With  ineloquent  lips,  but  with  looks  so  much  the  more  elo- 
quent, he  took  mournful  leave  of  her ;  and  at  the  gate  below 
found  two  white  Steers  awaiting  him,  as  sleek  and  glittering  as 
of  old  the  godlike  Bull,  on  whose  smooth  back  the  virgin  Europa 
swam  across  the  blue  sea  waves.  Joyfully  he  loosed  them  from 
the  post,  and  drove  them  softly  on  before  him.  The  distance 
home  seemed  but  a  few  ells,  so  much  was  his  spirit  busied  with 
the  fair  Libussa :  and  he  vowed,  that  as  he  never  could  obtain 
her  love,  he  would  love  no  other  all  his  days.  The  old  Knight 
rejoiced  in  the  return  of  his  son  ;  and  still  more  in  learning  that 
the  oracle  of  the  fair  heiress  agreed  so  completely  with  his  own 
wishes.  As  husbandry  had  been  appointed  by  the  gods  for  the 
young  man's  trade,  he  lingered  not  in  harnessing  his  white  Steers, 
and  yoking  them  to  the  plough.  The  first  trial  prospered  to  his 
wish :  the  bullocks  had  such  strength  and  alacrity  that  they  turned 
over  in  a  single  day  more  land  than  twelve  yoke  of  oxen  com- 
monly can  master :  for  they  were  fiery  and  impetuous,  as  the 
Bull  is  painted  in  the  Almanac,  where  he  rushes  from  the  clouds 
in  the  sign  of  April ;  not  sluggish  and  heavy  like  the  Ox,  who 
plods  on  with  his  holy  consorts,  in  our  Gospel-Book,  phlegmati- 
cally,  as  a  Dutch  skipper  in  a  calm. 

Duke  Czech,  who  had  led  the  first  colony  of  his  people  into 
Bohemia,  was  now  long  ago  committed  to  his  final  rest,  yet  his 
descendants  had  not  been  promoted  to  succeed  him  in  his  princely 
dignity.  The  Magnates  had  in  truth,  at  his  decease,  assembled 
for  a  new  election ;  but  their  wild  stormy  tempers  would  admit  of 
no  reasonable  resolution.  Self-interest  and  self-sufficiency  trans- 
formed the  first  Bohemian  Convention  of  Estates  into  a  Polish 
Diet :  as  too  many  hands  laid  hold  of  the  princely  mantle,  they 
tore  it  in  pieces,  and  no  one  of  them  obtained  it.  The  government 
had  dwindled  to  a  sort  of  Anarchy ;  every  one  did  what  was  right 


72 


MUSiEUS. 


in  his  own  eyes  ;  the  strong  oppressed  the  weak,  the  rich  the  poor, 
the  great  the  little.  There  was  now  no  public  security  in  the  land; 
yet  the  frank  spirits  of  the  time  thought  their  new  republic  very 
well  arranged:  "All  is  in  order,"  said  they,  "  everything  goes  on 
its  way  with  us  as  well  as  elsewhere ;  the  wolf  eats  the  lamb,  the 
kite  the  dove,  the  fox  the  cock."  This  artless  constitution  could 
not  last :  when  the  first  debauch  of  fancied  freedom  had  gone  off, 
and  the  people  were  again  grown  sober,  reason  asserted  its  rights ; 
the  patriots,  the  honest  citizens,  whoever  in  the  nation  loved  his 
country,  joined  together  to  destroy  the  idol  Hydra,  and  unite  the 
people  once  more  under  a  single  head.  * '  Let  us  choose  a  Prince," 
said  they,  "to  rule  over  us,  after  the  manner  of  our  fathers,  to 
tame  the  froward,  and  exercise  right  and  justice  in  the  midst  of 
us.  Not  the  strongest,  the  boldest,  or  the  richest ;  the  wisest 
be  our  Duke!"  The  people,  wearied  out  with  the  oppressions 
of  their  petty  tyrants,  had  on  this  occasion  but  one  voice,  and 
loudly  applauded  the  proposal.  A  meeiing  of  Estates  was  con- 
voked ;  and  the  choice  unanimously  fell  upon  the  wise  Krokus. 
An  embassy  of  honour  was  appointed,  inviting  him  to  take  pos- 
session of  the  princely  dignity.  Though  he  had  never  longed  for 
lofty  titles,  he  hesitated  not  about  complying  with  the  people's 
wish.  Invested  with  the  purple,  he  proceeded,  with  great  pomp, 
to  Vizegrad,  the  residence  of  the  Dukes ;  where  the  people  met 
him  with  triumphant  shouting,  and  did  reverence  to  him  as  their 
Eegent.  Whereby  he  perceived,  that  now  the  third  Reed-stalk  of 
the  bountiful  Elf  was  likewise  sending  forth  its  gift  upon  him. 

His  love  of  justice,  and  his  wise  legislation,  soon  spread  his 
fame  over  all  the  surrounding  countries.  The  Sarmatic  Prince?, 
incessantly  at  feud  with  one  another,  brought  their  contention 
from  afar  before  his  judgment-seat.  He  weighed  it  with  the  un- 
deceitful  weights  of  natural  Justice,  in  the  scales  of  Law ;  and 
when  he  opened  his  mouth,  it  was  as  if  the  venerable  Solon,  or 
the  wise  Solomon  from  between  the  Twelve  Lions  of  his  throne, 
had  been  pronouncing  sentence.  Some  seditious  instigators  having 
leagued  against  the  peace  of  their  country,  and  kindled  war  among 
the  Poles,  he  advanced  at  the  head  of  his  army  into  Poland ;  put 
an  end  to  the  civil  strife  ;  and  a  large  portion  of  the  people,  grate- 
ful for  the  peace  which  he  had  given  them,  chose  him  for  their 
Duke  also.  He  there  built  the  city  Cracow,  which  is  called  by 
his  name,  and  has  the  privilege  of  crowning  the  Polish  Kings, 
even  to  the  present  time.    Krokus  ruled  with  great  glory  to  the 


LIBUSSA. 


73 


end  of  his  days.  Observing  that  he  was  now  near  their  limit, 
and  must  soon  set  out,  he  caused  a  coffin  to  be  made  from  the 
fragments  of  the  oak  which  his  spouse  the  Elf  had  inhabited ; 
and  then  departed  in  peace,  bewept  by  the  Princesses  his  three 
daughters,  who  deposited  the  Ducal  remains  in  the  coffin,  and 
consigned  him  to  the  Earth  as  he  had  commanded ;  and  the  whole 
land  mourned  for  him. 

When  the  obsequies  were  finished,  the  Estates  assembled  to 
deliberate  who  should  now  possess  the  vacant  throne.  The  people 
were  unanimous  for  one  of  Krokus's  daughters  ;  but  which  of  the 
three  they  had  not  yet  determined.  Fraulein  Bela  had,  on  the 
whole,  the  fewest  adherents  ;  for  her  heart  was  not  good ;  and  her 
magic-lantern  was  too  frequently  employed  in  doing  sheer  mis- 
chief. But  she  had  raised  such  a  terror  of  herself  among  the 
people,  that  no  one  liked  to  take  exception  at  her,  lest  he  might 
draw  down  her  vengeance  on  him.  When  the  vote  was  called, 
therefore,  the  Electors  all  continued  dumb  ;  there  was  no  voice  for 
her,  but  also  none  against  her.  At  sunset  the  representatives  of 
the  people  separated,  adjourning  their  election  to  another  day. 
Then  Fraulein  Therba  was  proposed :  but  confidence  in  her  in- 
cantations had  made  Fraulein  Therba's  head  giddy;  she  was 
proud  and  overbearing ;  required  to  be  honoured  as  a  goddess ; 
and  if  incense  did  not  always  smoke  for  her,  she  grew  peevish, 
cross,  capricious ;  displaying  all  the  properties  by  which  the  fair 
sex,  when  they  please,  can  cease  to  be  fair.  She  was  less  feared 
than  her  elder  sister,  but  not  on  that  account  more  loved.  For 
these  reasons,  the  election-field  continued  silent  as  a  lykewake ; 
and  the  vote  was  never  called  for.  On  the  third  day  came  Li- 
bussa's  turn.  No  sooner  was  this  name  pronounced,  than  a  con- 
fidential hum  was  heard  throughout  the  electing  circle ;  the 
solemn  visages  unwrinkled  and  brightened  up,  and  each  of  the 
Electors  had  some  good  to  whisper  of  the  Fraulein  to  his  neigh- 
bour. One  praised  her  virtue,  another  praised  her  modesty,  a 
third  her  prudence,  a  fourth  her  infallibility  in  prophecy,  a  fifth 
her  disinterestedness  in  giving  counsel,  a  tenth  her  chastity,  other 
ninety  her  beauty,  and  the  last  her  gifts  as  a  housewife.  When 
a  lover  draws  out  such  a  catalogue  of  the  perfections  of  his  mis- 
tress, it  remains  still  doubtful  whether  she  is  really  the  possessor 
of  a  single  one  among  them ;  but  the  public  seldom  errs  on  the 
favourable  side,  however  often  on  the  other,  in  the  judgments  it 
pronounces  on  good  fame.    With  so  many  universally  acknow- 


74 


MUSJEUS. 


ledged  praiseworthy  qualities,  Fraulein  Libussa  was  undoubtedly 
the  favoured  candidate,  at  least  in  petto,  of  the  sage  Electors : 
but  the  preference  of  the  younger  sister  to  the  elder  has  so  fre- 
quently, in  the  affair  of  marriage,  as  experience  testifies,  destroyed 
the  peace  of  the  house,  that  reasonable  fear  might  be  entertained 
lest  in  affairs  of  still  greater  moment  it  might  disturb  the  peace 
of  the  country.  This  consideration  put  the  sapient  guardians  of 
the  people  into  such  embarrassment,  that  they  could  come  to  no 
conclusion  whatever.  There  was  wanting  a  speaker,  to  hang  the 
clock-weight  of  his  eloquence  upon  the  wheel  of  the  Electors' 
favourable  will,  before  the  business  could  get  into  motion,  and 
the  good  disposition  of  their  minds  become  active  and  efficient  ; 
and  this  speaker  now  appeared,  as  if  appointed  for  the  business. 

Wladomir,  one  of  the  Bohemian  Magnates,  the  highest  after 
the  Duke,  had  long  sighed  for  the  enchanting  Libussa,  and  wooed 
her  during  Father  Krokus's  lifetime.  The  youth  being  one  of  his 
most  faithful  vassals,  and  beloved  by  him  as  a  son,  the  worthy 
Krokus  could  have  wished  well  that  love  would  unite  this  pair  ; 
but  the  coyness  of  the  maiden  was  insuperable,  and  he  would  in 
nowise  force  her  inclination.  Prince  Wladomir,  however,  would 
not  be  deterred  by  these  doubtful  aspects  ;  but  still  hoped,  by 
fidelity  and  constancy,  to  tire  out  the  hard  heart  of  the  Fraulein, 
and  by  his  tender  attentions  make  it  soft  and  pliant.  He  con- 
tinued in  the  Duke's  retinue  to  the  end,  without  appearing  by  this 
means  to  have  advanced  a  hair's-breadth  towards  the  goal  of  his 
desires.  But  now,  he  thought,  an  opportunity  was  offered  him 
for  opening  her  closed  heart  by  a  meritorious  deed,  and  earning 
from  her  noble-minded  gratitude  what  love  did  not  seem  inclined 
to  grant  him  voluntarily.  ,He  determined  on  braving  the  hatred 
and  vengeance  of  the  two  dreaded  sisters,  and  raising  his  beloved 
to  her  paternal  throne.  Observing  the  indecision  of  the  wavering 
assembly,  he  addressed  them,  and  said  : 

"If  ye  will  hear  me,  ye  courageous  Knights  and  Nobles  from 
among  the  people,  I  will  lay  before  you  a  similitude,  by  which 
you  shall  perceive  how  this  coming  choice  may  be  accomplished, 
to  the  weal  and  profit  of  the  land." 

Silence  being  ordered,  he  proceeded  thus  : 

"  The  Bees  had  lost  their  Queen,  and  the  whole  hive  sat  sad 
and  moping ;  they  flew  seldom  and  sluggishly  out,  had  small  heart 
or  activity  in  honey-making,  and  their  trade  and  sustenance  fell 
into  decay.    Therefore  they  resolved  upon  a  new  sovereign,  to 


LIBUSSA. 


75 


rule  over  their  community,  that  discipline  and  order  might  not  be 
lost  from  among  them.  Then  came  the  Wasp  flying  towards  them, 
and  said:  ( Choose  me  for  your  Queen,  I  am  mighty  and  terrible; 
the  strong  horse  is  afraid  of  my  sting;  with  it  I  can  even  defy  the 
lion,  your  hereditary  foe,  and  prick  him  in  the  snout  when  he 
approaches  your  store  :  I  will  watch  you  and  defend  you.'  This 
speech  was  pleasant  to  the  Bees ;  but  after  deeply  considering  it, 
the  wisest  among  them  answered :  '  Thou  art  stout  and  dreadful, 
but  even  the  sting  which  is  to  guard  us  we  fear  :  thou  canst  not 
be  our  Queen.'  Then  the  Humble-bee  came  buzzing  towards 
them,  and  said  :  '  Choose  me  for  your  Queen  ;  hear  ye  not  that 
the  sounding  of  my  wings  announces  loftiness  and  dignity?  Nor 
is  a  sting  wanting  to  me,  wherewith  to  protect  you.'  The  Bees 
answered  :  '  We  are  a  peaceable  and  quiet  people  ;  the  proud 
sounding  of  thy  wings  would  annoy  us,  and  disturb  the  continu- 
ance of  our  diligence  :  thou  canst  not  be  our  Queen.'  Then  the 
Royal-bee  requested  audience  :  *  Though  I  am  larger  and  stronger 
than  you,'  said  she,  'my  strength  cannot  hurt  or  damage  you; 
for,  lo,  the  dangerous  sting  is  altogether  wanting.  I  am  soft  of 
temper,  a  friend  of  order  and  thrift,  can  guide  your  honey-mak- 
ing, and  further  your  labour.'  '  Then,'  said  the  Bees,  *  thou  art 
worthy  to  rule  over  us  :  we  obey  thee ;  be  our  Queen.'  " 

Wladomir  was  silent.  The  whole  assembly  guessed  the  mean- 
ing of  his  speech,  and  the  minds  of  all  were  in  a  favourable  tone 
for  Fraulein  Libussa.  But  at  the  moment  when  the  vote  was  to 
be  put,  a  croaking  raven  flew  over  their  heads  :  this  evil  omen 
interrupted  all  deliberations,  and  the  meeting  was  adjourned  till 
the  morrow.  It  was  Fraulein  Bela  who  had  sent  this  bird  of 
black  augury  to  stop  their  operations,  for  she  well  knew  how  the 
minds  of  the  Electors  were  inclining ;  and  Prince  Wladomir  had 
raised  her  bitterest  spleen  against  him.  She  held  a  secret  con- 
sultation with  her  sister  Therba  ;  when  it  was  determined  to  take 
vengeance  on  their  common  slanderer,  and  to  dispatch  a  heavy 
Incubus  to  suffocate  the  soul  from  his  body.  The  stout  Knight, 
dreaming  nothing  of  this  danger,  went,  as  he  was  wont,  to  wait 
upon  his  mistress,  and  was  favoured  by  her  with  the  first  friendly 
look ;  from  which  he  failed  not  to  presage  for  himself  a  heaven 
of  delight ;  and  if  anything  could  still  have  increased  his  rapture, 
it  must  have  been  the  gift  of  a  rose,  which  was  blooming  on  the 
Fraulein's  breast,  and  which  she  reached  him,  with  an  injunction 
to  let  it  wither  on  his  heart.    He  interpreted  these  words  quite 


76 


MUSiEUS. 


otherwise  than  they  were  meant ;  for  of  all  the  sciences,  there  is 
none  so  deceitful  as  the  science  of  expounding  in  matters  of  love  : 
here  errors,  as  it  were,  have  their  home.  The  enamoured  Knight 
was  anxious  to  preserve  his  rose  as  long  as  possible  in  freshness 
and  bloom  ;  he  put  it  in  a  flower-pot  among  water,  and  fell  asleep 
with  the  most  flattering  hopes. 

At  gloomy  midnight,  the  destroying  angel  sent  by  Fraulein 
Bela  glided  towards  him ;  with  panting  breath  blew  off  the  bolts 
and  locks  of  his  apartment ;  lighted  like  a  mountain  of  lead  upon 
the  slumbering  Knight,  and  so  squeezed  him  together,  that  he 
felt  on  awakening  as  if  a  millstone  had  been  hung  about  his  neck. 
In  this  agonising  suffocation,  thinking  that  the  last  moment  of 
his  life  was  at  hand,  he  happily  remembered  the  rose,  which  was 
standing  by  his  bed  in  a  flower-pot,  and  pressed  it  to  his  breast, 
saying:  "Wither  with  me,  fair  rose,  and  die  on  my  chilled  bo- 
som, as  a  proof  that  my  last  thought  was  directed  to  thy  gentle 
mistress."  In  an  instant  all  was  light  about  his  heart;  the 
heavy  Incubus  could  not  withstand  the  magic  force  of  the  flower ; 
his  crushing  weight  would  not  now  have  balanced  a  feather ;  his 
antipathy  to  the  perfume  soon  scared  him  from  the  chamber ; 
and  the  narcotic  virtue  of  this  rose -odour  again  lulled  the  Knight 
into  refreshing  sleep.  He  rose  with  the  sun  next  morning,  fresh 
and  alert,  and  rode  to  the  field,  to  see  what  impression  his  simili- 
tude had  made  on  the  Electors,  and  to  watch  what  course  the 
business  was  about  to  take ;  determined  at  all  hazards,  should  a 
contrary  wind  spring  up,  and  threaten  with  shipwreck  the  vessel 
of  his  hopes,  to  lay  his  hand  upon  the  rudder,  and  steer  it  into 
port. 

For  the  present  this  was  not  required.  The  electing  Senate 
had  considered  Wladomir's  parable,  and  so  sedulously  ruminated 
and  digested  it  overnight,  that  it  had  passed  into  their  hearts 
and  spirits.  A  stout  Knight,  who  espied  this  favourable  crisis, 
and  who  sympathised  in  the  concerns  of  his  heart  with  the  en- 
amoured Wladomir,  was  endeavouring  to  snatch  away,  or  at  least 
to  share  with  him,  the  honour  of  exalting  Fraulein  Libussa  to  the 
throne.  He  stept  forth,  and  drew  his  sword,  and  with  a  loud 
voice  proclaimed  Libussa  Duchess  of  Bohemia,  calling  upon  all 
who  thought  as  he  did,  to  draw  their  swords  and  justify  the  choice. 
In  a  moment  hundreds  of  swords  were  gleaming  through  the  field ; 
a  loud  huzza  announced  the  new  Begent,  and  on  all  sides  arose 
the  joyful  shout:  " Libussa  be  our  Duchess!"    A  commission 


LIBUSSA. 


77 


was  appointed,  with  Wladomir  and  the  stout  sword- drawer  at  its 
head,  to  acquaint  the  Fraulein  with  her  exaltation  to  the  princely- 
rank.  With  that  modest  blush,  which  gives  the  highest  grace 
to  female  charms,  she  accepted  the  sovereignty  over  the  people ; 
and  the  magic  of  her  enrapturing  look  made  all  hearts  subject  to 
her.  The  nation  celebrated  the  event  with  vast  rejoicings  :  and 
although  her  two  sisters  envied  her,  and  employed  their  secret 
arts  to  obtain  revenge  on  her  and  their  country  for  the  slight 
which  had  been  put  upon  them,  and  endeavoured  by  the  leaven 
of  criticism,  by  censuring  all  the  measures  and  transactions  of 
their  sister,  to  produce  a  hurtful  fermentation  in  the  state,  yet 
Libussa  was  enabled  wisely  to  encounter  this  unsisterly  pro- 
cedure, and  to  ruin  all  the  hostile  projects,  magical  or  other,  of 
these  ungentle  persons ;  till  at  last,  weary  of  assailing  her  in 
vain,  they  ceased  to  employ  their  ineffectual  arts  against  her. 

The  sighing  Wladomir  awaited,  in  the  mean  time,  with  wist- 
ful longing,  the  unfolding  of  his  fate.  More  than  once  he  had 
tried  to  read  the  final  issue  of  it  in  the  fair  eyes  of  his  Princess ; 
but  Libussa  had  enjoined  them  strict  silence  respecting  the  feel- 
ings of  her  heart ;  and  for  a  lover,  without  prior  treaty  with  the 
eyes  and  their  significant  glances,  to  demand  an  oral  explanation, 
is  at  all  times  an  unhappy  undertaking.  The  only  favourable 
sign,  which  still  sustained  his  hopes,  was  the  unfaded  rose ;  for 
after  a  year  had  passed  away,  it  still  bloomed  as  fresh  as  on  the 
night  when  he  received  it  from  her  fair  hand.  A  flower  from  a 
lady's  hand,  a  nosegay,  a  ribbon,  or  a  lock  of  hair,  is  certainly 
in  all  cases  better  than  an  empty  nut ;  yet  all  these  pretty  things 
are  but  ambiguous  pledges  of  love,  if  they  have  not  borrowed 
meaning  from  some  more  trustworthy  revelation.  Wladomir  had 
nothing  for  it  but  to  play  in  silence  the  part  of  a  sighing  shep- 
herd, and  to  watch  what  Time  and  Chance  might  in  the  long-run 
do  to  help  him.  The  unquiet  Mizisla  pursued  his  courtship  with 
far  more  vivacity :  he  pressed  forward  on  every  occasion  where  he 
could  obtain  her  notice.  At  the  coronation,  he  had  been  the  first 
that  took  the  oath  of  fealty  to  the  Princess  ;  he  followed  her  in- 
separably, as  the  Moon  does  the  Earth,  to  express  by  unbidden 
offices  of  zeal  his  devotion  to  her  person ;  and  on  public  solemni- 
ties and  processions,  he  flourished  his  sword  before  her,  to  keep 
its  good  services  in  her  remembrance. 

Yet  Libussa  seemed,  like  other  people  in  the  world,  to  have 
very  speedily  forgotten  the  promoters  of  her  fortune  ;  for  when  an 


78 


MUS^US. 


obelisk  is  once  standing  perpendicular,  one  heeds  not  the  levers 
and  implements  which  raised  it ;  so  at  least  the  claimants  of  her 
heart  explained  the  Fraulein's  coldness.  Meanwhile  both  of  them 
were  wrong  in  their  opinion  :  the  Fraulein  was  neither  insensible 
nor  ungrateful ;  but  her  heart  was  no  longer  a  free  piece  of  pro- 
perty, which  she  could  give  or  sell  according  to  her  pleasure.  The 
decree  of  Love  had  already  passed  in  favour  of  the  trim  Forester 
with  the  sure  cross-bow.  The  first  impression,  which  the  sight  of 
him  had  made  upon  her  heart,  was  still  so  strong,  that  no  second 
could  efface  it.  In  a  period  of  three  years,  the  colours  of  imagina- 
tion, in  which  that  Divinity  had  painted  the  image  of  the  graceful 
youth,  had  no  whit  abated  in  their  brightness  ;  and  love  therefore 
continued  altogether  unimpaired.  For  the  passion  of  the  fair  sex 
is  of  this  nature,  that  if  it  can  endure  three  moons,  it  will  then 
last  three  times  three  years,  or  longer  if  required.  In  proof  of 
this,  see  the  instances  occurring  daily  before  our  eyes.  When  the 
heroes  of  Germany  sailed  over  distant  seas,  to  fight  out  the  quarrel 
of  a  self-willed  daughter  of  Britain  with  her  motherland,  they  tore 
themselves  from  the  arms  of  their  dames  with  mutual  oaths  of 
truth  and  constancy ;  yet  before  the  last  Buoy  of  the  Weser  had 
got  astern  of  them,  the  heroic  navigators  were  for  most  part  for- 
gotten of  their  Chloes.  The  fickle  among  these  maidens,  out  of 
grief  to  find  their  hearts  unoccupied,  hastily  supplied  the  vacuum 
by  the  surrogate  of  new  intrigues  ;  but  the  faithful  and  true,  who 
had  constancy  enough  to  stand  the  Weser-proof,  and  had  still 
refrained  from  infidelity  when  the  conquerors  of  their  hearts  had 
got  beyond  the  Black  Buoy,  these,  it  is  said,  preserved  their 
vow  unbroken  till  the  return  of  the  heroic  host  into  their  German 
native  country ;  and  are  still  expecting  from  the  hand  of  Love  the 
recompense  of  their  unwearied  perseverance. 

It  is  therefore  less  surprising  that  the  fair  Libussa,  under 
these  circumstances,  could  withstand  the  courting  of  the  brilliant 
chivalry  who  struggled  for  her  love,  than  that  Penelope  of  Ithaca 
could  let  a  whole  cohort  of  wooers  sigh  for  her  in  vain,  when  her 
heart  had  nothing  in  reserve  but  the  gray-headed  Ulysses.  Rank 
and  birth,  however,  had  established  such  a  difference  in  the  situ- 
ations of  the  Fraulein  and  of  her  beloved  youth,  that  any  closer 
union  than  Platonic  love,  a  shadowy  business  which  can  neither 
warm  nor  nourish,  was  not  readily  to  be  expected.  Though  in 
those  distant  times,  the  pairing  of  the  sexes  was  as  little  esti- 
mated by  parchments  and  genealogical  trees,  as  the  chaffers  were 


LIBUSSA. 


79 


arranged  by  their  antennae  and  shell-wings,  or  the  flowers  by  their 
pistils,  stamina,  calix  and  honey-produce  ;  it  was  understood  that 
with  the  lofty  elm  the  precious  vine  should  mate  itself,  and  not 
the  rough  tangleweed  which  creeps  along  the  hedges.  A  mis- 
assortment  of  marriage  from  a  difference  of  rank  an  inch  in  breadth 
excited,  it  is  true,  less  uproar  than  in  these  our  classic  times ; 
yet  a  difference  of  an  ell  in  breadth,  especially  when  rivals  occu- 
pied the  interstice,  and  made  the  distance  of  the  two  extremities 
more  visible,  was.  even  then  a  thing  which  men  could  notice.  All 
this,  and  much  more,  did  the  Fraulein  accurately  ponder  in  her 
prudent  heart ;  therefore  she  granted  Passion,  the  treacherous 
babbler,  no  audience,  loudly  as  it  spoke  in  favour  of  the  youth 
whom  Love  had  honoured.  Like  a  chaste  vestal,  she  made  an 
irrevocable  vow  to  persist  through  life  in  her  virgin  closeness  of 
heart ;  and  to  answer  no  inquiry  of  a  wooer,  either  with  her  eyes, 
or  her  gestures,  or  her  lips  ;  yet  reserving  to  herself,  as  a  just 
indemnification,  the  right  of  platonising  to  any  length  she  liked. 
This  nunlike  system  suited  the  aspirants'  way  of  thought  so  ill, 
that  they  could  not  in  the  least  comprehend  the  killing  coldness 
of  their  mistress ;  Jealousy,  the  confidant  of  Love,  whispered  tor- 
turing suspicion  in  their  ears ;  each  thought  the  other  was  the 
happy  rival,  and  their  penetration  spied  about  unweariedly  to 
make  discoveries,  which  both  of  them  recoiled  from.  Yet  Frau- 
lein Libussa  weighed  out  her  scanty  graces  to  the  two  valiant 
Bitters  with  such  prudence  and  acuteness,  on  so  fair  a  balance, 
that  the  scale  of  neither  rose  above  the  other. 

Weary  of  this  fruitless  waiting,  both  of  them  retired  from 
the  Court  of  their  Princess,  and  settled,  with  secret  discontent, 
upon  the  affeoffments  which  Duke  Krokus  had  conferred  on  them. 
They  brought  so  much  ill-humour  home  with  them,  that  Wlado- 
mir  was  an  oppression  to  all  his  vassals  and  his  neighbours ;  and 
Hitter  Mizisla,  on  the  other  hand,  became  a  hunter,  followed  deer 
and  foxes  over  the  seed-fields  and  fences  of  his  subjects,  and  often 
with  his  train,  to  catch  one  hare,  would  ride  ten  acres  of  corn  to 
nothing.  In  consequence,  arose  much  sobbing  and  bewailing  in 
the  land ;  yet  no  righteous  judge  stepped  forth  to  stay  the  mis- 
chief; for  who  would  willingly  give  judgment  against  the  stronger? 
And  so  the  sufferings  of  the  people  never  reached  the  throne  of 
the  Duchess.  By  the  virtue  of  her  second-sight,  however,  no  in- 
justice done  within  the  wide  limits  of  her  sway  could  escape  her 
observation ;  and  the  disposition  of  her  mind  being  soft,  like  the 


80 


MUS2EUS. 


sweet  features  of  her  face,  she  sorrowed  inwardly  at  the  misdeeds 
of  her  vassals,  and  the  violence  of  the  powerful.  She  took  counsel 
with  herself  how  the  evil  might  be  remedied,  and  her  wisdom  sug- 
gested an  imitation  of  the  gods,  who,  in  their  judicial  procedure, 
do  not  fall  upon  the  criminal,  and  cut  him  off  as  it  were  with  the 
red  hand ;  though  vengeance,  following  with  slow  steps,  sooner 
or  later  overtakes  him.  The  young  Princess  appointed  a  general 
Convention  of  her  Chivalry  and  States,  and  made  proclamation, 
that  wmoever  had  a  grievance  or  a  wrong  to  be  righted,  should 
come  forward  free  and  fearless,  under  her  safe-conduct.  There- 
upon, from  every  end  and  corner  of  her  dominions,  the  maltreated 
and  oppressed  crowded  towards  her ;  the  wranglers  also,  and  liti- 
gious persons,  and  whoever  had  a  legal  cause  against  his  neigh- 
bour. Libussa  sat  upon  her  throne,  like  the  goddess  Themis, 
and  passed  sentence,  without  respect  of  persons,  with  unerring 
judgment ;  for  the  labyrinthic  mazes  of  chicane  could  not  lead  her 
astray,  as  they  do  the  thick  heads  of  city  magistrates ;  and  all 
men  were  astonished  at  the  wisdom  with  which  she  unravelled 
the  perplexed  hanks  of  processes  for  meum  and  tuum,  and  at  her 
unwearied  patience  in  picking  out  the  threads  of  justice,  never 
once  catching  a  false  end,  but  passing  them  from  side  to  side  of 
their  embroilments,  and  winding  them  off  to  the  uttermost  thrum. 

When  the  tumult  of  the  parties  at  her  bar  had  by  degrees 
diminished,  and  the  sittings  were  about  to  be  concluded,  on  the 
last  clay  of  these  assizes  audience  was  demanded  by  a  free  neigh- 
bour of  the  potent  Wladomir,  and  by  deputies  from  the  subjects 
of  the  hunter  Mizisla.  They  were  admitted,  and  the  Freeholder 
first  addressing  her,  began  :  "  An  industrious  planter,"  said  he, 
"  fenced-in  a  little  circuit,  on  the  bank  of  a  broad  river,  whose 
waters  glided  down  with  soft  rushing  through  the  green  valley ; 
for,  he  thought,  The  fair  stream  will  be  a  guard  to  me  on  this 
side,  that  no  hungry  wild-beast  eat  my  crops,  and  it  will  moisten 
the  roots  of  my  fruit-trees,  that  they  flourish  speedily  and  bring 
me  fruit.  But  when  the  earnings  of  his  toil  were  about  to  ripen, 
the  deceitful  stream  grew  troubled ;  its  still  waters  began  to  swell 
and  roar,  it  overflowed  its  banks,  and  carried  one  piece  after 
another  of  the  fruitful  soil  along  with  it ;  and  dug  itself  a  bed 
through  the  middle  of  the  cultivated  land ;  to  the  sorrow  of  the 
poor  planter,  who  had  to  give  up  his  little  property  to  the  mali- 
cious wasting  of  his  strong  neighbour,  the  raging  of  whose  waves 
he  himself  escaped  with  difficulty.  Puissant  daughter  of  the  wise 


LIBUSSA. 


81 


Krokus,  the  poor  planter  entreats  of  thee  to  command  the  haughty 
river  no  longer  to  roll  its  proud  hillows  over  the  field  of  the  toil- 
some husbandman,  or  wash  away  the  fruit  of  his  weary  arms,  his 
hope  of  glad  harvest ;  but  to  flow  peacefully  along  within  the 
limits  of  its  own  channel." 

During  this  speech,  the  cheerful  brow  of  the  fair  Libussa  be- 
came overclouded ;  manly  rigour  gleamed  from  her  eyes,  and  all 
around  was  ear  to  catch  her  sentence,  which  ran  thus  :  "  Thy 
cause  is  plain  and  straight ;  no  force  shall  disturb  thy  rightful 
privileges.  A  dike,  which  it  shall  not  overpass,  shall  set  bounds 
to  the  tumultuous  river ;  and  from  its  fishes  thou  shalt  be  repaid 
sevenfold  the  plunder  of  its  wasteful  billows."  Then  she  beckoned 
to  the  eldest  of  the  Deputies,  and  he  bowed  his  face  to  the  earth, 
and  said:  "  Wise  daughter  of  the  far-famed  Krokus,  Whose  is 
the  grain  upon  the  field,  the  sower's,  who  has  hidden  the  seed- 
corn  in  the  ground  that  it  spring  up  and  bear  fruit ;  or  the 
tempest's,  which  breaks  it  and  scatters  it  away?"  She  answered: 
"  The  sower's." — "  Then  command  the  tempest,"  said  the  spokes- 
man, "  that  it  choose  not  our  corn-fields  for  the  scene  of  its 
caprices,  to  uproot  our  crops  and  shake  the  fruit  from  our  trees." 
— "  So  be  it,"  said  the  Duchess;  "  I  will  tame  the  tempest, 
and  banish  it  from  your  fields  ;  it  shall  battle  with  the  clouds, 
and  disperse  them,  where  they  are  rising  from  the  south,  and 
threatening  the  land  with  hail  and  heavy  weather." 

Prince  Wladomir  and  Bitter  Mizisla  were  both  assessors  in 
the  general  tribunal.  On  hearing  the  complaint,  and  the  rigorous 
sentence  passed  regarding  it,  they  waxed  pale,  and  looked  down 
upon  the  ground  with  suppressed  indignation  ;  not  daring  to  dis- 
cover how  sharply  it  stung  them  to  be  condemned  by  a  decree 
from  female  lips.  For  although,  out  of  tenderness  to  their  honour, 
the  complainants  had  modestly  overhung  the  charge  with  an  alle- 
gorical veil,  which  the  righteous  sentence  of  the  fair  President 
had  also  prudently  respected,  yet  the  texture  of  this  covering  was 
so  fine  and  transparent,  that  whoever  had  an  eye  might  see  what 
stood  behind  it.  But  as  they  dared  not  venture  to  appeal  from 
the  judgment-seat  of  the  Princess  to  the  people,  since  the  sent- 
ence passed  upon  them  had  excited  universal  joy,  they  submitted 
to  it,  though  with  great  reluctance.  Wladomir  indemnified  his 
freeholding  neighbour  sevenfold  for  the  mischief  done  him ;  and 
Nimrod  Mizisla  engaged,  on  the  honour  of  a  knight,  no  more  to 
select  the  corn-fields  of  his  subjects  as  a  chase  for  hare-catching. 

VOL.  III.  Q 


82 


MUSJETJS. 


Libussa,  at  the  same  time,  pointed  out  to  them  a  more  respect- 
able employment,  for  occupying  their  activity,  and  restoring  to 
their  fame,  which  now,  like  a  cracked  pot  when  struck,  emitted 
nothing  but  discords,  the  sound  ring  of  knightly  virtues.  She 
placed  them  at  the  head  of  an  army,  which  she  was  dispatching 
to  encounter  Zornebock,  the  Prince  of  the  Sorbi,  a  giant,  and  a 
powerful  magician  withal,  who  was  then  meditating  war  against 
Bohemia.  This  commission  she  accompanied  with  the  penance, 
that  they  were  not  to  appear  again  at  Court,  till  the  one  could 
offer  her  the  plume,  the  other  the  golden  spurs,  of  the  monster, 
as  tokens  of  their  victory. 

The  unfading  rose,  during  this  campaign,  displayed  its  magic 
virtues  once  more.  By  means  of  it,  Prince  Wladomir  was  as 
invulnerable  to  mortal  weapons,  as  Achilles  the  Hero  ;  and  as 
nimble,  quick  and  dextrous,  as  Achilles  the  Light- of-foot.  The 
armies  met  upon  the  southern  boundaries  of  the  Kingdom,  and 
joined  in  fierce  battle.  The  Bohemian  heroes  flew  through  the 
squadrons,  like  storm  and  whirlwind ;  and  cut  down  the  thick 
spear -crop,  as  the  scythe  of  the  mower  cuts  a  field  of  hay. 
Zornebock  fell  beneath  the  strong  dints  of  their  falchions  ;  they 
returned  in  triumph  with  the  stipulated  spoils  to  Vizegrad ;  and 
the  spots  and  blemishes,  which  had  soiled  their  knightly  virtue, 
were  now  washed  clean  away  in  the  blood  of  their  enemies. 
Libussa  bestowed  on  them  every  mark  of  princely  honour,  dis- 
missed them  to  their  homes  when  the  army  was  discharged;  and 
gave  them,  as  a  new  token  of  her  favour,  a  purple-red  apple  from 
her  pleasure-garden,  for  a  memorial  of  her  by  the  road,  enjoining 
them  to  part  the  same  peacefully  between  them,  without  cutting 
it  in  two.  They  then  went  their  way  ;  put  the  apple  on  a  shield, 
and  had  it  borne  before  them  as  a  public  spectacle,  while  they  con- 
sulted together  how  the  parting  of  it  might  be  prudently  effected, 
according  to  the  meaning  of  its  gentle  giver. 

While  the  point  where  their  roads  divided  lay  before  them  at 
a  distance,  they  proceeded  with  their  partition-treaty  in  the  most 
accommodating  mood ;  but  at  last  it  became  necessary  to  deter- 
mine which  of  the  two  should  have  the  apple  in  his  keeping,  for 
both  had  equal  shares  in  it,  and  only  one  could  get  it,  though 
each  promised  to  himself  great  wonders  from  the  gift,  and  was 
eager  to  obtain  possession  of  it.  They  split  in  their  opinions  on 
this  matter ;  and  things  went  so  far,  that  it  appeared  as  if  the 
sword  must  decide,  to  whom  this  indivisible  apple  had  been  al- 


LIBUSSA. 


S3 


lotted  by  the  fortune  of  arms.  But  a  shepherd  driving  his  flock 
overtook  them  as  they  stood  debating ;  him  they  selected  (appa- 
rently in  imitation  of  the  Three  Goddesses,  who  also  applied  to  a 
shepherd  to  decide  their  famous  apple -quarrel),  and  made  arbiter 
of  their  dispute,  and  laid  the  business  in  detail  before  him.  The 
shepherd  thought  a  little,  then  said:  "In  the  gift  of  this  apple 
lies  a  deep-hidden  meaning ;  but  who  can  bring  it  out,  save  the 
sage  Virgin  who  hid  it  there  ?  For  myself,  I  conceive  the  apple 
is  a  treacherous  fruit,  that  has  grown  upon  the  Tree  of  Discord, 
and  its  purple  skin  may  prefigure  bloody  feud  between  your  wor- 
shipful knightships ;  that  each  is  to  cut  off  the  other,  and  neither 
of  you  get  enjoyment  of  the  gift.  For,  tell  me,  how  is  it  possible 
to  part  an  apple,  without  cutting  it  in  twain?"  The  Knights 
took  the  shepherd's  speech  to  heart,  and  thought  there  was  a 
deal  of  truth  in  it.  "  Thou  hast  judged  rightly,"  said  they: 
"  Has  not  this  base  apple  already  kindled  anger  and  contention 
between  us  ?  Were  we  not  standing  harnessed  to  fight,  for  the 
deceitful  gift  of  this  proud  Princess  ?  Did  she  not  put  us  at  the 
head  of  her  army,  with  intention  to  destroy  us  ?  And  haviug 
failed  in  this,  she  now  arms  our  hands  with  the  weapons  of  dis- 
cord against  each  other  !  We  renounce  her  crafty  present ;  neither 
of  us  will  have  the  apple.  Be  it  thine,  as  the  reward  of  thy 
righteous  sentence  :  to  the  judge  belongs  the  fruit  of  the  process, 
and  to  the  parties  the  rind." 

The  Knights  then  went  their  several  ways,  while  the  herds- 
man consumed  the  objection  litis  with  all  the  composure  and  con- 
veniency  common  among  judges.  The  ambiguous  present  of  the 
Duchess  cut  them  to  the  heart ;  and  as  they  found,  on  returning 
home,  that  they  could  no  longer  treat  their  subjects  and  vassals 
in  the  former  arbitrary  fashion,  but  were  forced  to  obey  the  laws, 
which  Fraulein  Libussa  had  promulgated  for  the  general  security 
among  her  people,  their  ill  humour  grew  more  deep  and  rancor- 
ous. They  entered  into  a  league  offensive  and  defensive  with  each 
other ;  made  a  party  for  themselves  in  the  country ;  and  many 
mutinous  wrongheads  joined  them,  and  were  sent  abroad  in  packs 
to  decry  and  calumniate  the  government  of  women.  "Shame! 
8hame  !"  cried  they,  "  that  we  must  obey  a  woman,  who  gathers 
our  victorious  laurels  to  decorate  a  distaff  with  them  !  The  Man 
should  be  master  of  the  house,  and  not  the  Wife ;  this  is  his 
special  right,  and  so  it  is  established  everywhere,  among  all  people. 
What  is  an  army  without  a  Duke  to  go  before  his  warriors,  but  a 


84 


MUSiEUS. 


helpless  trunk  without  a  head  ?  Let  us  appoint  a  Prince,  who 
may  be  ruler  over  us,  and  whom  we  may  obey." 

These  seditious  speeches  were  no  secret  to  the  watchful  Prin- 
cess ;  nor  was  she  ignorant  what  wind  blew  them  thither,  or  what 
its  sounding  boded.  Therefore  she  convened  a  deputation  of  the 
States  ;  entered  their  assembly  with  the  stateliness  of  an  earthly 
goddess,  and  the  words  of  her  mouth  dropped  like  honey  from  her 
virgin  lips.  "A  rumour  flies  about  the  land,"  said  she,  "that 
you  desire  a  Duke  to  go  before  you  to  battle,  and  that  you  reckon 
it  inglorious  to  obey  me  any  longer.  Yet,  in  a  free  and  uncon- 
strained election,  you  yourselves  did  not  choose  a  man  from  among 
you ;  but  called  one  of  the  daughters  of  the  people,  and  clothed 
her  with  the  purple,  to  rule  over  you  according  to  the  laws  and 
customs  of  the  land.  Whoso  can  accuse  me  of  error  in  conduct- 
ing the  government,  let  him  step  forward  openly  and  freely,  and 
bear  witness  against  me.  But  if  I,  after  the  manner  of  my  father 
Krokus,  have  done  prudently  and  justly  in  the  midst  of  you, 
making  crooked  things  straight,  and  rough  places  plain  ;  if  I 
have  secured  your  harvests  from  the  spoiler,  guarded  the  fruit- 
tree,  and  snatched  the  flock  from  the  claws  of  the  wolf ;  if  I  have 
bowed  the  stiff  neck  of  the  violent,  assisted  the  down -pressed, 
and  given  the  weak  a  staff  to  rest  on ;  then  will  it  beseem  you  to 
live  according  to  your  covenant,  and  be  true,  gentle  and  helpful 
to  me,  as  in  doing  fealty  to  me  you  engaged.  If  you  reckon  it 
inglorious  to  obey  a  woman,  you  should  have  thought  of  this  before 
appointing  me  to  be  your  Princess ;  if  there  is  disgrace  here,  it 
is  you  alone  who  ought  to  bear  it.  But  your  procedure  shows 
you  not  to  understand  your  own  advantage  :  for  woman's  hand  is 
soft  and  tender,  accustomed  only  to  waft  cool  air  with  the  fan ; 
and  sinewy  and  rude  is  the  arm  of  man,  heavy  and  oppressive 
when  it  grasps  the  supreme  control.  And  know  ye  not  that  where 
a  woman  governs,  the  rule  is  in  the  power  of  men  ?  For  she 
gives  heed  to  wise  counsellors,  and  these  gather  round  her.  But 
where  the  distaff  excludes  from  the  throne,  there  is  the  govern- 
ment of  females ;  for  the  women,  that  please  the  king's  eyes, 
have  his  heart  in  their  hand.  Therefore,  consider  well  of  your 
attempt,  lest  ye  repent  your  fickleness  too  late." 

The  fair  speaker  ceased ;  and  a  deep  reverent  silence  reigned 
throughout  the  hall  of  meeting ;  none  presumed  to  utter  a  word 
against  her.  Yet  Prince  Wladomir  and  his  allies  desisted  not 
from  their  intention,  but  whispered  in  each  other's  ear:  "The 


LIBUSSA. 


85 


sly  Doe  is  loath  to  quit  the  fat  pastures ;  but  the  hunter's  horn 
shall  sound  yet  louder,  and  scare  her  forth."3  Next  day  they 
prompted  the  knights  to  call  loudly  on  the  Princess  to  choose 
a  husband  within  three  days,  and  by  the  choice  of  her  heart  to 
give  the  people  a  Prince,  who  might  divide  with  her  the  cares  of 
government.  At  this  unexpected  requisition,  coming  as  it  seemed 
from  the  voice  of  the  nation,  a  virgin  blush  overspread  the  cheeks 
of  the  lovely  Princess ;  her  clear  eye  discerned  all  the  sunken 
cliffs,  which  threatened  her  with  peril.  For  even  if,  according  to 
the  custom  of  the  great  world,  she  should  determine  upon  sub- 
jecting her  inclination  to  her  state-policy,  she  could  only  give  her 
hand  to  one  suitor,  and  she  saw  well  that  all  the  remaining  can- 
didates would  take  it  as  a  slight,  and  begin  to  meditate  revenge. 
Besides,  the  private  vow  of  her  heart  was  inviolable  and  sacred 
in  her  eyes.  Therefore  she  endeavoured  prudently  to  turn  aside 
this  importunate  demand  of  the  States ;  and  again  attempted  to 
persuade  them  altogether  to  renounce  their  schemes  of  innova 
tion.  "  The  eagle  being  dead,"  said  she,  "the  birds  chose  the 
Ring-dove  for  their  queen,  and  all  of  them  obeyed  her  soft  cooing 
call.  But  light  and  airy,  as  is  the  nature  of  birds,  they  soon 
altered  their  determination,  and  repented  them  that  they  had 
made  it.  The  proud  Peacock  thought  that  it  beseemed  him  better 
to  be  ruler ;  the  keen  Falcon,  accustomed  to  make  the  smaller 
birds  his  prey,  reckoned  it  disgraceful  to  obey  the  peaceful  Dove ; 
they  formed  a  party,  and  appointed  the  weak-eyed  Owl  to  be  the 
spokesman  of  their  combination,  and  propose  a  new  election  of  a 
sovereign.  The  sluggish  Bustard,  the  heavy-bodied  Heath-cock, 
the  lazy  Stork,  the  small-brained  Heron,  and  all  the  larger  birds 
chuckled,  flapped,  and  croaked  applause  to  him ;  and  the  host  of 
little  birds  twittered,  in  their  simplicity,  and  chirped  out  of  bush 
and  grove  to  the  same  tune.  Then  arose  the  warlike  Kite,  and 
soared  boldly  up  into  the  air,  and  the  birds  cried  out :  '  What  a 
majestic  flight  !  The  brave,  strong  Kite  shall  be  our  King  !' 
Scarcely  had  the  plundering  bird  taken  possession  of  the  throne, 
when  he  manifested  his  activity  and  courage  on  his  winged  sub- 
jects, in  deeds  of  tyranny  and  caprice  :  he  plucked  the  feathers 
from  the  larger  fowls,  and  eat  the  little  songsters." 

Significant  as  this  oration  was,  it  made  but  a  small  impression 

8  Invita  de  Icetioribus  pascuis,  autor  seditionis  inquit,  bucula  ista  decedit;  sed 
jam  vi  inde  deturbanda  est,  si  sua  sponte  loco  suo  concedere  viro  alicui  principi 
noluerit. — Dubeavius. 


86 


MUS^US. 


on  the  minds  of  the  people,  hungering  and  thirsting  after  change  ; 
and  they  abode  by  their  determination,  that  within  three  days, 
Fraulein  Libussa  should  select  herself  a  husband.  At  this,  Prince 
Wladomir  rejoiced  in  heart ;  for  now,  he  thought,  he  should  se- 
cure the  fair  prey,  for  which  he  had  so  long  been  watching  in 
vain.  Love  and  ambition  inflamed  his  wishes,  and  put  eloquence 
into  his  mouth,  which  had  hitherto  confined  itself  to  secret  sigh- 
ing.   He  came  to  Court,  and  required  audience  of  the  Duchess. 

"  Gracious  ruler  of  thy  people  and  my  heart,"  thus  he  ad- 
dressed her,  "from  thee  no  secret  is  hidden;  thou  knowest  the 
flames  which  burn  in  this  bosom,  holy  and  pure  as  on  the  altar 
of  the  gods,  and  thou  knowest  also  what  fire  has  kindled  them. 
It  is  now  appointed,  that  at  the  behest  of  thy  people,  thou  give 
the  land  a  Prince.  Wilt  thou  disdain  a  heart,  which  lives  and 
beats  for  thee  ?  To  be  worthy  of  thy  love,  I  risked  my  life  to 
put  thee  on  the  throne  of  thy  father.  Grant  me  the  merit  of 
retaining  thee  upon  it  by  the  bon^  of  tender  affection :  let  us 
divide  the  possession  of  thy  throne  and  thy  heart ;  the  first  be 
thine,  the  second  be  mine,  and  my  happiness  will  be  exalted 
beyond  the  lot  of  mortals." 

Fraulein  Libussa  wore  a  most  maidenlike  appearance  during 
this  oration,  and  covered  her  face  with  her  veil,  to  hide  the  soft 
blush  which  deepened  the  colour  of  her  cheeks.  On  its  conclusion, 
she  made  a  sign  with  her  hand,  not  opening  her  lips,  for  the  Prince 
to  step  aside ;  as  if  she  would  consider  what  she  should  resolve 
upon,  in  answer  to  his  suit. 

Immediately  the  brisk  Knight  Mizisla  announced  himself,  and 
desired  to  be  admitted. 

"  Loveliest  of  the  daughters  of  princes,"  said  he,  as  he  entered 
the  audience-chamber,  "the  fair  Ring-dove,  queen  of  the  air,  must 
no  longer,  as  thou  well  knowest,  coo  in  solitude,  but  take  to  her- 
self a  mate.  The  proud  Peacock,  it  is  talked,  holds  up  his  glitter- 
ing plumage  in  her  eyes,  and  thinks  to  blind  her  by  the  splendour 
of  his  feathers ;  but  she  is  prudent  and  modest,  and  will  not  unite 
herself  with  the  haughty  Peacock.  The  keen  Falcon,  once  a  plun- 
dering bird,  has  now  changed  his  nature ;  is  gentle  and  honest, 
and  without  deceit ;  for  he  loves  the  fair  Dove,  and  would  fain 
that  she  mated  with  him.  That  his  bill  is  hooked  and  his  talons 
sharp,  must  not  mislead  thee  :  he  needs  them  to  protect  the  fair 
Dove  his  darling,  that  no  bird  hurt  her,  or  disturb  the  habitation 
of  her  rule ;  for  he  is  true  and  kindly  to  her,  and  first  swore  fealty 


LIBUSSA. 


87 


on  the  day  when  she  was  crowned.  Now  tell  me,  wise  Princess, 
if  the  soft  Dove  will  grant  to  her  trusty  Falcon  the  love  which  he 
longs  for  ?" 

Fraulein  Libussa  did  as  she  had  done  before ;  beckoned  to  the 
Knight  to  step  aside ;  and,  after  waiting  for  a  space,  she  called 
the  two  rivals  into  her  presence,  and  spoke  thus  : 

"  I  owe  you  great  thanks,  noble  Knights,  for  your  help  in 
obtaining  me  the  princely  crown  of  Bohemia,  which  my  father 
Krokus  honourably  wore.  The  zeal,  of  which  you  remind  me,  had 
not  faded  from  my  remembrance;  nor  is  it  hid  from  my  knowledge, 
that  you  virtuously  love  me,  for  your  looks  and  gestures  have  long 
been  the  interpreters  of  your  feelings.  That  I  shut  up  my  heart 
against  you,  and  did  not  answer  love  with  love,  regard  not  as  in- 
sensibility; it  was  not  meant  for  slight  or  scorn,  but  for  harmo- 
niously determining  a  choice  which  was  doubtful.  I  weighed  your 
merits,  and  the  tongue  of  the  trying  balance  bent  to  neither  side. 
Therefore  I  resolved  on  leaving  the  decision  of  your  fate  to  your- 
selves ;  and  offered  you  the  possession  of  my  heart,  under  the 
figure  of  an  enigmatic  apple ;  that  it  might  be  seen  to  which  of 
you  the  greater  measure  of  judgment  and  wisdom  had  been  given, 
in  appropriating  to  himself  this  gift,  which  could  not  be  divided. 
Now  tell  me  without  delay,  In  whose  hands  is  the  apple  ?  Which- 
ever of  you  has  won  it  from  the  other,  let  him  from  this  hour  re- 
ceive my  throne  and  my  heart  as  the  prize  of  his  skill." 

The  two  rivals  looked  at  one  another  with  amazement ;  grew 
pale,  and  held  their  peace.  At  last,  after  a  long  pause,  Prince 
Wladomir  broke  silence,  and  said  : 

"  The  enigmas  of  the  wise  are,  to  the  foolish,  a  nut  in  a  tooth- 
less mouth,  a  pearl  which  the  cock  scratches  from  the  sand,  a 
lantern  in  the  hand  of  the  blind.  0  Princess,  be  not  wroth  with 
us,  that  we  neither  knew  the  use  nor  the  value  of  thy  gift ;  we  mis- 
interpreted thy  purpose;  thought  that  thou  hadst  cast  an  apple  of 
contention  on  our  path,  to  awaken  us  to  strife  and  deadly  feud ; 
therefore  each  gave  up  his  share,  and  we  renounced  the  divisive 
fruit,  whose  sole  possession  neither  of  us  would  have  peaceably 
allowed  the  other !" 

"  You  have  given  sentence  on  yourselves,"  replied  the  Frau- 
lein:  "  if  an  apple  could  inflame  your  jealousy,  what  fighting 
would  ye  not  have  fought  for  a  myrtle -garland  twined  about  a 
crown !" 

With  this  response  she  dismissed  the  Knights,  who  now 


88 


MUS^US. 


lamented  that  they  had  given  ear  to  the  unwise  arbiter,  and 
thoughtlessly  cast  away  the  pledge  of  love,  which,  as  it  appeared, 
had  been  the  casket  of  their  fairest  hopes.  They  meditated  sever- 
ally how  they  might  still  execute  their  purpose,  and  by  force  or 
guile  get  possession  of  the  throne,  with  its  lovely  occupant. 

Fraulein  Libussa,  in  the  mean  while,  was  not  spending  in 
idleness  the  three  days  given  her  for  consideration ;  but  diligently 
taking  counsel  with  herself,  how  she  might  meet  the  importunate 
demand  of  her  people,  give  Bohemia  a  Duke,  and  herself  a  hus- 
band according  to  the  choice  of  her  heart.  She  dreaded  lest  Prince 
Wladomir  might  still  more  pressingly  assail  her,  and  perhaps  de- 
prive her  of  the  throne.  Necessity  combined  with  love  to  make 
her  execute  a  plan,  with  which  she  had  often  entertained  herself 
as  with  a  pleasant  dream ;  for  what  mortal's  head  has  not  some 
phantom  walking  in  it,  towards  which  he  turns  in  a  vacant  hour, 
to  play  with  it  as  with  a  puppet  ?  There  is  no  more  pleasing  pas- 
time for  a  strait -shod  maiden,  when  her  galled  corns  are  resting 
from  the  toils  of  the  pavement,  than  to  think  of  a  stately  and  com- 
modious equipage;  the  coy  beauty  dreams  gladly  of  counts  sighing 
at  her  feet;  Avarice  gets  prizes  in  the  Lottery;  the  debtor  in  the 
jail  falls  heir  to  vast  possessions ;  the  squanderer  discovers  the 
Hermetic  Secret ;  and  the  poor  woodcutter  finds  a  treasure  in  the 
hollow  of  a  tree ;  all  merely  in  fancy,  yet  not  without  the  enjoy- 
ment of  a  secret  satisfaction.  The  gift  of  prophecy  has  always 
been  united  with  a  warm  imagination ;  thus  the  fair  Libussa  had, 
like  others,  willingly  and  frequently  given  heed  to  this  seductive 
playmate,  which,  in  kind  companionship,  had  always  entertained 
her  with  the  figure  of  the  young  Archer,  so  indelibly  impressed 
upon  her  heart.  Thousands  of  projects  came  into  her  mind,  which 
Fancy  palmed  on  her  as  feasible  and  easy.  At  one  time  she  formed 
schemes  of  drawing  forth  her  darling  youth  from  his  obscurity, 
placing  him  in  the  army,  and  raising  him  from  one  post  of  honour 
to  another ;  and  then  instantly  she  bound  a  laurel  garland  about 
his  temples,  and  led  him,  crowned  with  victory  and  honour,  to  the 
throne  she  could  have  been  so  glad  to  share  with  him.  At  other 
times,  she  gave  a  different  turn  to  the  romance :  she  equipped  her 
darling  as  a  knight -errant,  seeking  for  adventures;  brought  him  to 
her  Court,  and  changed  him  into  a  Huon  of  Bourdeaux ;  nor  was 
the  wondrous  furniture  wanting,  for  endowing  him  as  highly  as 
Mend  Oberon  did  his  ward.  But  when  Common  Sense  again  got 
possession  of  the  maiden's  soul,  the  many- coloured  forms  of  the 


LIBUSSA. 


89 


magic  lantern  waxed  pale  in  the  beam  of  prudence,  and  the  fair 
vision  vanished  into  air.  She  then  bethought  her  what  hazards 
would  attend  such  an  enterprise  ;  what  mischief  for  her  people, 
when  jealousy  and  envy  raised  the  hearts  of  her  grandees  in  re- 
bellion against  her,  and  the  alarum  beacon  of  discord  gave  the 
signal  for  uproar  and  sedition  in  the  land.  Therefore  she  sedu- 
lously hid  the  wishes  of  her  heart  from  the  keen  glance  of  the 
spy,  and  disclosed  no  glimpse  of  them  to  any  one. 

But  now,  when  the  people  were  clamouring  for  a  Prince,  the 
matter  had  assumed  another  form :  the  point  would  now  be  at- 
tained, could  she  combine  her  wishes  with  the  national  demand. 
She  strengthened  her  soul  with  manly  resolution ;  and  as  the  third 
day  dawned,  she  adorned  herself  with  all  her  jewels,  and  her  head 
was  encircled  with  the  myrtle  crown.  Attended  by  her  maidens, 
all  decorated  with  flower  garlands,  she  ascended  the  throne,  full 
of  lofty  courage  and  soft  dignity.  The  assemblage  of  knights  and 
vassals  around  her  stood  in  breathless  attention,  to  learn  from  her 
lips  the  name  of  the  happy  Prince  with  whom  she  had  resolved  to 
share  her  heart  and  throne.  "  Ye  nobles  of  my  people,"  thus  she 
spoke,  "  the  lot  of  your  destiny  still  lies  untouched  in  the  urn  of 
concealment ;  you  are  still  free  as  my  coursers  that  graze  in  the 
meadows,  before  the  bridle  and  the  bit  have  curbed  them,  or  their 
smooth  backs  have  been  pressed  by  the  burden  of  the  saddle  and 
the  rider.  It  now  rests  with  you  to  signify,  Whether,  in  the  space 
allowed  me  for  the  choice  of  a  spouse,  your  hot  desire  for  a  Prince 
to  rule  over  you  has  cooled,  and  given  place  to  more  calm  scrutiny 
of  this  intention ;  or  you  still  persist  inflexibly  in  your  demand." 
She  paused  for  a  moment;  but  the  hum  of  the  multitude,  the  whis- 
pering and  buzzing,  and  looks  of  the  whole  Senate,  did  not  long 
leave  her  in  uncertainty,  and  their  speaker  ratified  the  conclusion, 
that  the  vote  was  still  for  a  Duke.  "  Then  be  it  so  !"  said  she  ; 
"  the  die  is  cast,  the  issue  of  it  stands  not  with  me  !  The  gods 
have  appointed,  for  the  kingdom  of  Bohemia,  a  Prince  who  shall 
sway  its  sceptre  with  justice  and  wisdom.  The  young  cedar  does 
not  yet  overtop  the  firm-set  oaks;  concealed  among  the  trees  of  the 
forest  it  grows,  encircled  with  ignoble  shrubs ;  but  soon  it  shall 
send  forth  branches  to  give  shade  to  its  roots ;  and  its  top  shall 
touch  the  clouds.  Choose  a  deputation,  ye  nobles  of  the  people, 
of  twelve  honourable  men  from  among  you,  that  they  hasten  to 
seek  out  the  Prince,  and  attend  him  to  the  throne.  My  steed  will 
point  out  your  path ;  unloaded  and  free  it  shall  course  on  before 


90 


MUS^US. 


you;  and  as  a  token  that  you  have  found  what  you  are  sent  forth 
to  seek,  observe  that  the  man  whom  the  gods  have  selected  for 
your  Prince,  at  the  time  when  you  approach  him,  will  be  eating 
his  repast  on  an  iron  table,  under  the  open  sky,  in  the  shadow  of  a 
solitary  tree.  To  him  you  shall  do  reverence,  and  clothe  his  body 
with  the  princely  robe.  The  white  horse  will  let  him  mount  it, 
and  bring  him  hither  to  the  Court,  that  he  may  be  my  husband 
and  your  lord." 

She  then  left  the  assembly,  with  the  cheerful  yet  abashed  coun- 
tenance which  brides  wear,  when  they  look  for  the  arrival  of  the 
bridegroom.  At  her  speech  there  was  much  wondering ;  and  the 
prophetic  spirit  breathing  from  it  worked  upon  the  general  mind 
like  a  divine  oracle,  which  the  populace  blindly  believe,  and  which 
thinkers  alone  attempt  investigating.  The  messengers  of  honour 
were  selected,  the  white  horse  stood  in  readiness,  caparisoned  with 
Asiatic  pomp,  as  if  it  had  been  saddled  for  carrying  the  Grand 
Signior  to  mosque.  The  cavalcade  set  forth,  attended  by  the  con- 
course, and  the  loud  huzzaing  of  the  people ;  and  the  white  horse 
paced  on  before.  But  the  train  soon  vanished  from  the  eyes  of 
the  spectators :  and  nothing  could  be  seen  but  a  little  cloud  of 
dust  whirling  up  afar  off :  for  the  spirited  courser,  getting  to  its 
mettle  when  it  reached  the  open  air,  began  a  furious  gallop,  like 
a  British  racer,  so  that  the  squadron  of  deputies  could  hardly  keep 
in  sight  of  it.  Though  the  quick  steed  seemed  abandoned  to  its 
own  guidance,  an  unseen  power  directed  its  steps,  pulled  its  bridle, 
and  spurred  its  flanks.  Fraulein  Libussa,  by  the  magic  virtues 
inherited  from  her  Elfine  mother,  had  contrived  so  to  instruct  the 
courser,  that  it  turned  neither  to  the  right  hand  nor  to  the  left 
from  its  path,  but  with  winged  steps  hastened  on  to  its  destina- 
tion :  and  she  herself,  now  that  all  combined  to  the  fulfilment  of 
her  wishes,  awaited  its  returning  rider  with  tender  longing. 

The  messengers  had  in  the  mean  time  been  soundly  galloped  ; 
already  they  had  travelled  many  leagues,  up  hill  and  down  dale ; 
had  swum  across  the  Elbe  and  the  Moldau ;  and  as  their  gastric 
juices  made  them  think  of  dinner,  they  recalled  to  mind  the 
strange  table,  at  which,  according  to  the  Fraulein's  oracle,  their 
new  Prince  was  to  be  feeding.  Their  glosses  and  remarks  on  it 
were  many.  A  forward  knight  observed  to  his  companions  :  "  In 
my  poor  view  of  it,  our  gracious  lady  has  it  in  her  eye  to  bilk  us, 
and  make  April  messengers  of  us  ;  for  who  ever  heard  of  any  man 
in  Bohemia  that  ate  his  victuals  off  an  iron  table  ?   What  use  is 


LIBUSSA. 


91 


it  ?  our  sharp  galloping  will  bring  us  nothing  but  mockery  and 
scorn."  Another,  of  a  more  penetrating  turn,  imagined  that  the 
iron  table  might  be  allegorical ;  that  they  should  perhaps  fall  in 
with  some  knight -errant,  who,  after  the  manner  of  the  wandering 
brotherhood,  had  sat  down  beneath  a  tree,  and  spread  out  his 
frugal  dinner  on  his  shield.  A  third  said,  jesting:  "I  fear  our 
way  will  lead  us  down  to  the  workshop  of  the  Cyclops ;  and  we 
shall  find  the  lame  Vulcan,  or  one  of  his  journeymen,  dining  from 
his  stithy,  and  must  bring  him  to  our  Venus." 

Amid  such  conversation,  they  observed  their  guiding  quad- 
ruped, which  had  got  a  long  start  of  them,  turn  across  a  new- 
ploughed  field,  and,  to  their  wonder,  halt  beside  the  ploughman. 
They  dashed  rapidly  forward,  and  found  a  peasant  sitting  on  an 
upturned  plough,  and  eating  his  black  bread  from  the  iron  plough- 
share, which  he  was  using  as  a  table,  under  the  shadow  of  a  fresh 
pear-tree.  He  seemed  to  like  the  stately  horse ;  he  patted  it, 
offered  it  a  bit  of  bread,  and  it  eat  from  his  hand.  The  Embassy, 
of  course,  was  much  surprised  at  this  phenomenon  ;  nevertheless, 
no  member  of  it  doubted  but  that  they  had  found  their  man. 
They  approached  him  reverently,  and  the  eldest  among  them 
opened  his  lips,  and  said:  "The  Duchess  of  Bohemia  has  sent 
us  hither,  and  bids  us  signify  to  thee  the  will  and  purpose  of  the 
gods,  that  thou  change  thy  plough  with  the  throne  of  this  king- 
dom, and  thy  goad  with  its  sceptre.  She  selects  thee  for  her  hus- 
band, to  rule  with  her  over  the  Bohemians."  The  young  peasant 
thought  they  meant  to  banter  him ;  a  thing  little  to  his  taste, 
especially  as  he  supposed  that  they  had  guessed  his  love-secret, 
and  were  now  come  to  mock  his  weakness.  Therefore  he  ans- 
wered somewhat  stoutly,  to  meet  mockery  with  mockery  :  ' 1  But 
is  your  dukedom  worth  this  plough  ?  If  the  prince  cannot  eat 
with  better  relish,  drink  more  joyously,  or  sleep  more  soundly 
than  the  peasant,  then  in  sooth  it  is  not  worth  while  to  change 
this  kindly  furrow -field  with  the  Bohemian  kingdom,  or  this 
smooth  ox-goad  with  its  sceptre.  For,  tell  me,  Are  not  three 
grains  of  salt  as  good  for  seasoning  my  morsel  as  three  bushels?" 

Then  one  of  the  Twelve  answered  :  "  The  purblind  mole  digs 
underground  for  worms  to  feed  upon ;  for  he  has  no  eyes  which 
can  endure  the  daylight,  and  no  feet  which  are  formed  for  run- 
ning like  the  nimble  roe ;  the  scaly  crab  creeps  to  and  fro  in  the 
mud  of  lakes  and  marshes,  delights  to  dwell  under  tree-roots  and 
shrubs  by  the  banks  of  rivers,  for  he  wants  the  fins  for  swimming ; 


92 


MUS^US. 


and  the  barn-door  cock,  cooped  up  within  his  hen-fence,  risks  no 
flight  over  the  low  wall,  for  he  is  too  timorous  to  trust  in  his 
wings,  like  the  high-soaring  bird  of  prey.  Have  eyes  for  seeing, 
feet  for  going,  fins  for  swimming,  and  pinions  for  flight  been 
allotted  thee,  thou  wilt  not  grub  like  a  mole  underground ;  nor 
hide  thyself  like  a  dull  shell-fish  among  mud ;  nor,  like  the  king 
of  the  poultry,  be  content  with  crowing  from  the  barn-door :  but 
come  forward  into  day ;  run,  swim,  or  fly  into  the  clouds,  as 
Nature  may  have  furnished  thee  with  gifts.  For  it  suffices  not 
the  active  man  to  continue  what  he  is ;  but  he  strives  to  become 
what  he  may  be.  Therefore,  do  thou  try  being  what  the  gods 
have  called  thee  to ;  then  wilt  thou  judge  rightly  whether  the 
Bohemian  kingdom  is  worth  an  acre  of  corn-land  in  barter,  yea 
or  not." 

This  earnest  oration  of  the  Deputy,  in  whose  face  no  jesting 
feature  was  to  be  discerned  ;  and  still  more  the  insignia  of  royalty, 
the  purple  robe,  the  sceptre  and  the  golden  sword,  which  the  am- 
bassadors brought  forward  as  a  reference  and  certificate  of  their 
mission's  authenticity,  at  last  overcame  the  mistrust  of  the  doubt- 
ing ploughman.  All  at  once,  light  rose  on  his  soul ;  a  rapturous 
thought  awoke  in  him,  that  Libussa  had  discovered  the  feelings 
of  his  heart ;  had,  by  her  skill  in  seeing  what  was  secret,  recog- 
nised his  faithfulness  and  constancy :  and  was  about  to  recom- 
pense him,  so  as  he  had  never  ventured  even  in  dreams  to  hope. 
The  gift  of  prophecy  predicted  to  him  by  her  oracle,  then  came 
into  his  mind ;  and  he  thought  that  now  or  never  it  must  be  ful- 
filled. Instantly  he  grasped  his  hazel  staff;  stuck  it  deep  into 
the  ploughed  land;  heaped  loose  mould  about  it,  as  you  plant 
a  tree ;  and,  lo,  immediately  the  staff  got  buds,  and  shot  forth 
sprouts  and  boughs  with  leaves  and  flowers.  Two  of  the  green 
twigs  withered,  and  their  dry  leaves  became  the  sport  of  the  wind  ; 
but  the  third  grew  up  the  more  luxuriantly,  and  its  fruits  ripened. 
Then  came  the  spirit  of  prophecy  upon  the  rapt  ploughman ;  he 
opened  his  mouth,  and  said :  "Ye  messengers  of  the  Princess 
Libussa  and  of  the  Bohemian  people,  hear  the  words  of  Primis- 
laus  the  son  of  Mnatha,  the  stout-hearted  Knight,  for  whom, 
blown  upon  by  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  the  mists  of  the  Future 
part  asunder.  The  man  who  guided  the  ploughshare,  ye  have 
called  to  seize  the  handles  of  your  princedom,  before  his  day's 
work  was  ended.  0  that  the  glebe  had  been  broken  by  the 
furrow,  to  the  boundary  -  stone  ;  so  had  Bohemia  remained  an 


LIBUSSA. 


93 


independent  kingdom  to  the  utmost  ages !  But  since  ye  have 
disturbed  the  labour  of  the  plougher  too  early,  the  limits  of  your 
country  will  become  the  heritage  of  your  neighbour,  and  your 
distant  posterity  will  be  joined  to  him  in  unchangeable  union. 
The  three  twigs  of  the  budding  Staff  are  three  sons  which  your 
Princess  shall  bear  me  :  two  of  them,  as  unripe  shoots,  shall 
speedily  wither  away ;  but  the  third  shall  inherit  the  throne,  and 
by  him  shall  the  fruit  of  late  grandchildren  be  matured,  till  the 
Eagle  soar  over  your  mountains  and  nestle  in  the  land ;  yet  soon 
fly  thence,  and  return  as  to  his  own  possession.  And  then,  when 
the  Son  of  the  Gods  arises,4  who  is  his  plougher's  friend,  and 
smites  the  slave-fetters  from  his  limbs,  then  mark  it,  Posterity, 
for  thou  shalt  bless  thy  destiny  !  For  when  he  has  trodden  under 
his  feet  the  Dragon  of  Superstition,  he  will  stretch  out  his  arm 
against  the  waxing  moon,  to  pluck  it  from  the  firmament,  that  he 
may  himself  illuminate  the  world  as  a  benignant  star." 

The  venerable  deputation  stood  in  silent  wonder,  gazing  at 
the  prophetic  man,  like  dumb  idols :  it  was  as  if  a  god  were 
speaking  by  his  lips.  He  himself  turned  away  from  them  to  the 
two  white  steers,  the  associates  of  his  toilsome  labour ;  he  un- 
yoked and  let  them  go  in  freedom  from  their  farm-service  ;  at 
which  they  began  frisking  joyfully  upon  the  grassy  lea,  but  at  the 
same  time  visibly  decreased  in  bulk ;  like  thin  vapour  melted  into 
air,  and  vanished  out  of  sight.  Then  Primislaus  doffed  his  peasant 
wooden  shoes,  and  proceeded  to  the  brook  to  clean  himself.  The 
precious  robes  were  laid  upon  him ;  he  begirt  himself  with  the 
sword,  and  had  the  golden  spurs  put  on  him  like  a  knight ;  then 
stoutly  sprang  upon  the  white  horse,  which  bore  him  peaceably 
along.  Being  now  about  to  quit  his  still  asylum,  he  commanded 
the  ambassadors  to  bring  his  wooden  shoes  after  him,  and  keep 
them  carefully,  as  a  token  that  the  humblest  among  the  people 
had  once  been  exalted  to  the  highest  dignity  in  Bohemia ;  and 
as  a  memorial  for  his  posterity  to  bear  their  elevation  meekly, 
and,  mindful  of  their  origin,  to  respect  and  defend  the  peasantry, 
from  which  themselves  had  sprung.  Hence  came  the  ancient 
practice  of  exhibiting  a  pair  of  wooden  shoes  before  the  Kings  of 
Bohemia  on  their  coronation ;  a  custom  held  in  observance  till 
the  male  line  of  Primislaus  became  extinct. 

The  planted  hazel  rod  bore  fruit  and  grew  ;  striking  roots  out 
on  every  side,  and  sending  forth  new  shoots,  till  at  last  the  whole 
*  Emperor  Joseph  II. 


94 


MUS^EUS. 


field  was  changed  into  a  hazel  copse  ;  a  circumstance  of  great 
advantage  to  the  neighbouring  township,  which  included  it  within 
their  bounds ;  for,  in  memory  of  this  miraculous  plantation,  they 
obtained  a  grant  from  the  Bohemian  Kings,  exempting  them  from 
ever  paying  any  public  contribution  in  the  land,  except  a  pint  of 
hazel  nuts ;  which  royal  privilege  their  late  descendants,  as  the 
story  runs,  are  enjoying  at  this  day.5 

Though  the  white  courser,  which  was  now  proudly  carrying 
the  bridegroom  to  his  mistress,  seemed  to  outrun  the  winds,  Pri- 
mislaus  did  not  fail  now  and  then  to  let  him  feel  the  golden  spurs, 
to  push  him  on  still  faster.  The  quick  gallop  seemed  to  him  a 
tortoise-pace,  so  keen  was  his  desire  to  have  the  fair  Libussa, 
whose  form,  after  seven  years,  was  still  so  new  and  lovely  in  his 
soul,  once  more  before  his  eyes ;  and  this  not  merely  as  a  show, 
like  some  bright  peculiar  anemone  in  the  variegated  bed  of  a 
flower-garden,  but  for  the  blissful  appropriation  of  victorious  love. 
He  thought  only  of  the  myrtle-crown,  which,  in  the  lover's  valua- 
tion, far  outshines  the  crown  of  sovereignty ;  and  had  he  balanced 
love  and  rank  against  each  other,  the  Bohemian  throne  without 
Libussa  would  have  darted  up,  like  a  clipped  ducat  in  the  scales 
of  the  money-changer. 

The  sun  was  verging  to  decline,  when  the  new  Prince,  with  his 
escort,  entered  Yizegrad.  Fraulein  Libussa  was  in  her  garden, 
where  she  had  just  plucked  a  basket  of  ripe  plums,  when  her 
future  husband's  arrival  was  announced  to  her.  She  went  forth 
modestly,  with  all  her  maidens,  to  meet  him ;  received  him  as 
a  bridegroom  conducted  to  her  by  the  gocls,  veiling  the  election 
of  her  heart  under  a  show  of  submission  to  the  will  of  Higher 
Powers.  The  eyes  of  the  Court  were  eagerly  directed  to  the 
stranger;  in  whom,  however,  nothing  could  be  seen  but  a  fair 
handsome  man.  In  respect  of  outward  form,  there  were  several 
courtiers  who,  in  thought,  did  not  hesitate  to  measure  with  him; 
and  could  not  understand  why  the  gods  should  have  disdained 
the  anti-chamber,  and  not  selected  from  it  some  accomplished 
and  ruddy  lord,  rather  than  the  sunburnt  ploughman,  to  assist 
the  Princess  in  her  government.    Especially  in  Wladomir  and 

6  .ZEneas  Sylvius  affirms  that  he  saw,  with  his  own  eyes,  a  renewal  of  this 
charter  from  Charles  IV.  Vidi  inter  privilegia  regni  litems  Caroli  Quarti, 
Romanorum  Imperatoris,  divi  Sigismundi  patris,  in  quibus  (villa  illius  incolce) 
libertate  donantur ;  nec  plus  tributi  pendere  jubentur,  quam  nucum  illius  arbor  is 
exiyuam  mensuram. 


LIBUSSA. 


95 


Mizisla,  it  was  observable  that  their  pretensions  were  reluctantly 
withdrawn.  It  behoved  the  Fraulein  then  to  vindicate  the  work 
of  the  gods  ;  and  show  that  Squire  Primislaus  had  been  indemni- 
fied for  the  defect  of  splendid  birth,  by  a  fair  equivalent  in  sterling 
common  sense  and  depth  of  judgment.  She  had  caused  a  royal 
banquet  to  be  prepared,  no  whit  inferior  to  the  feast  with  which 
the  hospitable  Dido  entertained  her  pious  guest  iEneas.  The 
cup  of  welcome  passed  diligently  round,  the  presents  of  the  Prin- 
cess had  excited  cheerfulness  and  good-humour,  and  a  part  of  the 
night  had  already  vanished  amid  jests  and  pleasant  pastime,  when 
Libussa  set  on  foot  a  game  at  riddles ;  and,  as  the  discovery  of 
hidden  things  was  her  proper  trade,  she  did  not  fail  to  solve, 
with  satisfactory  decision,  all  the  riddles  that  were  introduced. 

When  her  own  turn  came  to  propose  one,  she  called  Prince 
Wladomir,  Mizisla  and  Primislaus  to  her,  and  said  :  "  Fair  sirs, 
it  is  now  for  you  to  read  a  riddle,  which  I  shall  submit  to  you, 
that  it  may  be  seen  who  among  you  is  the  wisest  and  of  keenest 
judgment.  I  intended,  for  you  three,  a  present  of  this  basket  of 
plums,  which  I  plucked  in  my  garden.  One  of  you  shall  have 
the  half,  and  one  over ;  the  next  shall  have  the  half  of  what  re- 
mains, and  one  over;  the  third  shall  again  have  the  half,  and 
three  over.  Now,  if  so  be  that  the  basket  is  then  emptied,  tell 
me,  How  many  plums  are  in  it  now  ?" 

The  headlong  Bitter  Mizisla  took  the  measure  of  the  fruit 
with  his  eye,  not  the  sense  of  the  riddle  with  his  understanding, 
and  said :  "  What  can  be  decided  with  the  sword  I  might  under- 
take to  decide ;  but  thy  riddles,  gracious  Princess,  are,  I  fear, 
too  hard  for  me.  Yet  at  thy  request  I  will  risk  an  arrow  at  the 
bull's-eye,  let  it  hit  or  miss :  I  suppose  there  is  a  matter  of  some 
three  score  plums  in  the  basket." 

"  Thou  hast  missed,  dear  Knight,"  said  Fraulein  Libussa. 
"Were  there  as  many  again,  half  as  many,  and  a  third  part  as 
many  as  the  basket  has  in  it,  and  five  over,  there  would  then  be 
as  many  above  three  score  as  there  are  now  below  it.'* 

Prince  Wladomir  computed  as  laboriously  and  anxiously,  as 
if  the  post  of  Comptroller-General  of  Finances  had  depended  on 
a  right  solution ;  and  at  last  brought  out  the  net  product  five- 
and-forty.    The  Fraulein  then  said  : 

"  Were  there  a  third,  and  a  half,  and  a  sixth  as  many  again 
of  them,  the  number  would  exceed  forty-five  as  much  as  it  now 
falls  short  of  it." 


96 


MTTS^US. 


Though,  in  our  days,  any  man  endowed  with  the  arithmetical 
faculty  of  a  tapster,  might  have  solved  this  problem  without  diffi- 
culty, yet,  for  an  untaught  computant,  the  gift  of  divination  was 
essential,  if  he  meant  to  get  out  of  the  affair  with  honour,  and 
not  stick  in  the  middle  of  it  with  disgrace.  As  the  wise  Primislaus 
was  happily  provided  with  this  gift,  it  cost  him  neither  art  nor 
exertion  to  find  the  answer. 

"Familiar  companion  of  the  heavenly  Powers,"  said  he, 
"whoso  undertakes  to  pierce  thy  high  celestial  meaning,  under- 
takes to  soar  after  the  eagle  when  he  hides  himself  in  the  clouds. 
Yet  I  will  pursue  thy  hidden  flight,  as  far  as  the  eye,  to  which 
thou  hast  given  its  light,  will  reach.  I  judge  that  of  the  plums 
which  thou  hast  laid  in  the  basket,  there  are  thirty  in  number, 
not  one  fewer,  and  none  more." 

The  Fraulein  cast  a  kindly  glance  on  him,  and  said:  "  Thou 
tracest  the  glimmering  ember,  which  lies  deep-hid  among  the 
ashes ;  for  thee  light  dawns  out  of  darkness  and  vapour :  thou 
hast  read  my  riddle." 

Thereupon  she  opened  her  basket,  and  counted  out  fifteen 
plums,  and  one  over,  into  Prince  Wladomir's  hat,  and  fourteen 
remained.  Of  these  she  gave  Hitter  Mizisla  seven  and  one  over, 
and  there  were  still  six  in  the  basket ;  half  of  these  she  gave  the 
wise  Primislaus  and  three  over,  and  the  basket  was  empty.  The 
whole  Court  was  lost  in  wonder  at  the  fair  Libussa's  ciphering 
gift,  and  at  the  penetration  of  her  cunning  spouse.  Nobody  could 
comprehend  how  human  wit  was  able,  on  the  one  hand,  to  enclose 
a  common  number  so  mysteriously  in  words ;  or,  on  the  other 
hand,  to  drag  it  forth  so  accurately  from  its  enigmatical  conceal- 
ment. The  empty  basket  she  conferred  upon  the  two  Knights, 
who  had  failed  in  soliciting  her  love,  to  remind  them  that  their 
suit  was  voided.  Hence  comes  it,  that  when  a  wooer  is  rejected, 
people  say,  His  love  has  given  him  the  basket,  even  to  the  pre- 
sent day. 

So  soon  as  all  was  ready  for  the  nuptials  and  coronation, 
both  these  ceremonies  were  transacted  with  becoming  pomp. 
Thus  the  Bohemian  people  had  obtained  a  Duke,  and  the  fair 
Libussa  had  obtained  a  husband,  each  according  to  the  wish  of 
their  hearts ;  and  what  was  somewhat  wonderful,  by  virtue  of 
Chicane,  an  agent  who  has  not  the  character  of  being  too  bene- 
ficent or  prosperous.  And  if  either  of  the  parties  had  been  over- 
reached in  any  measure,  it  at  least  was  not  the  fair  Libussa. 


LTBUSSA. 


97 


Bohemia  had  a  Duke  in  name,  but  the  administration  now,  as 
formerly,  continued  in  the  female  hand.  Primislaus  was  the 
proper  pattern  of  a  tractable  obedient  husband,  and  contested 
with  his  Duchess  neither  the  direction  of  her  house  nor  of  her 
empire.  His  sentiments  and  wishes  sympathised  with  hers,  as 
perfectly  as  two  accordant  strings,  of.  which  when  the  one  is 
struck,  the  other  voluntarily  trembles  to  the  self- same  note.  Nor 
was  Libussa  like  those  haughty  overbearing  dames,  who  would 
pass  for  great  matches ;  and  having,  as  they  think,  made  the 
fortune  of  some  hapless  wight,  continually  remind  him  of  his 
wooden  shoes  :  but  she  resembled  the  renowned  Palmyran  Queen ; 
and  ruled,  as  Zenobia  did  her  kindly  Odenatus,  by  superiority  of 
mental  talent. 

The  happy  couple  lived  in  the  enjoyment  of  unchangeable 
love  ;  according  to  the  fashion  of  those  times,  when  the  instinct 
which  united  hearts  was  as  firm  and  durable,  as  the  mortar  and 
cement  with  which  they  built  their  indestructible  strongholds. 
Duke  Primislaus  soon  became  one  of  the  most  accomplished  and 
valiant  knights  of  his  time,  and  the  Bohemian  Court  the  most 
splendid  in  Germany.  By  degrees,  many  knights  and  nobles,  and 
multitudes  of  people  from  all  quarters  of  the  empire,  drew  to  it ; 
so  that  Vizegrad  became  too  narrow  for  its  inhabitants ;  and,  in 
consequence,  Libussa  called  her  officers  before  her,  and  com- 
manded them  to  found  a  city,  on  the  spot  where  they  should  find 
a  man  at  noontide  making  the  wisest  use  of  his  teeth.  They  set 
forth,  and  at  the  time  appointed  found  a  man  engaged  in  sawing 
a  block  of  wood.  They  judged  that  this  industrious  character 
was  turning  his  saw-teeth,  at  noontide,  to  a  far  better  use  than 
the  parasite  does  his  jaw-teeth  by  the  table  of  the  great ;  and 
doubted  not  but  they  had  found  the  spot,  intended  by  the  Princess 
for  the  site  of  their  town.  They  marked  out  a  space  upon  the 
green  with  the  ploughshare,  for  the  circuit  of  the  city  walls.  On 
asking  the  workman  what  he  meant  to  make  of  his  sawed  timber, 
he  replied,  "  Prah,"  which  in  the  Bohemian  language  signifies  a 
door-threshold.  So  Libussa  called  her  new  city  Praha,  that  is 
Prague,  the  well-known  capital  upon  the  Moldau.  In  process  of 
time,  Primislaus's  predictions  were  punctually  fulfilled.  His  spouse 
became  the  mother  of  three  Princes ;  two  died  in  youth,  but  the 
third  grew  to  manhood,  and  from  him  went  forth  a  glorious  royal 
line,  which  flourished  for  long  centuries  on  the  Bohemian  throne. 


VOL.  in. 


MELECHSALA. 


Father  Gregory,  the  ninth  of  the  name  who  sat  upon  St.  Peter's 
chair,  had  once,  in  a  sleepless  night,  an  inspiration  from  the 
spirit,  not  of  prophecy,  hut  of  political  chicane,  to  clip  the  wings 
of  the  German  Eagle,  lest  it  rose  ahove  the  head  of  his  own 
haughty  Home.  No  sooner  had  the  first  sunbeam  enlightened 
the  venerable  Vatican,  than  his  Holiness  summoned  his  attendant 
chamberlain,  and  ordered  him  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  Sacred 
College  ;  where  Father  Gregory,  in  his  pontifical  apparel,  cele- 
brated high  mass,  and  after  its  conclusion  moved  a  new  Crusade ; 
to  which  all  his  cardinals,  readily  surmising  the  wise  objects  of 
this  armament  for  God's  glory  and  the  common  weal  of  Christen- 
dom, gave  prompt  and  cordial  assent. 

Thereupon,  a  cunning  Nuncio  started  instantly  for  Naples, 
where  the  Emperor  Frederick  of  Swabia  had  his  Court ;  and  took 
with  him  in  his  travelling-bag  two  boxes,  one  of  which  was  filled 
with  the  sweet  honey  of  persuasion  ;  the  other  with  tinder,  steel 
and  flint,  to  light  the  fire  of  excommunication,  should  the  muti- 
nous son  of  the  Church  hesitate  to  pay  the  Holy  Father  due  obe- 
dience. On  arriving  at  Court,  the  Legate  opened  his  sweet  box, 
and  copiously  gave  out  its  smooth  confectionery.  But  the  Em- 
peror Frederick  was  a  man  delicate  in  palate ;  he  soon  smacked 
the  taste  of  the  physic  hidden  in  this  sweetness,  and  he  knew  too 
well  its  effects  on  the  alimentary  canal ;  so  he  turned  away  from 
the  treacherous  mess,  and  declined  having  any  more  of  it.  Then 
the  Legate  opened  his  other  box,  and  made  it  spit  some  sparks, 
which  singed  the  Imperial  beard,  and  stung  the  skin  like  nettles ; 
whereby  the  Emperor  discovered  that  the  Holy  Father's  finger 
might,  ere  long,  be  heavier  on  him  than  the  Legate's  loins;  there- 
fore plied  himself  to  the  purpose,  engaged  to  lead  the  armies  of 


MELECHSALA. 


99 


tne  Lord  against  the  Unbelievers  in  the  East,  and  appointed  his 
Princes  to  assemble  for  an  expedition  to  the  Holy  Land.  The 
Princes  communicated  the  Imperial  order  to  the  Counts,  the 
Counts  summoned  out  their  vassals,  the  Knights  and  Nobles  ; 
the  Knights  equipped  their  Squires  and  Horsemen ;  all  mounted, 
and  collected,  each  under  his  proper  banner. 

Except  the  night  of  St.  Bartholomew,  no  night  has  ever 
caused  such  sorrow  and  tribulation  in  the  world,  as  this,  which 
God's  Vicegerent  upon  Earth  had  employed  in  watching  to  pro- 
duce a  ruinous  Crusade.  Ah,  how  many  warm  tears  flowed,  as 
knight  and  squire  pricked  off,  and  blessed  their  dears  !  A  glorious 
race  of  German  heroes  never  saw  the  light,  because  of  this  de- 
parture ;  but  languished  in  embryo,  as  the  germs  of  plants  in 
the  Syrian  desert,  when  the  hot  Sirocco  has  passed  over  them. 
The  ties  of  a  thousand  happy  marriages  were  violently  torn 
asunder;  ten  thousand  brides  in  sorrow  hung  their  garlands, 
like  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem,  upon  the  Babylonian  willow- 
trees,  and  sat  and  wept ;  and  a  hundred  thousand  lovely  maidens 
grew  up  for  the  bridegroom  in  vain,  and  blossomed  like  a  rose- 
bed  in  a  solitary  cloister  garden,  for  there  was  no  hand  to  pluck 
them,  and  they  withered  away  unenjoyed.  Among  the  sighing 
spouses,  whom  this  sleepless  night  of  his  Holiness  deprived  of 
their  husbands,  were  St.  Elizabeth,  the  Landgraf  of  Thuringia's 
lady,  and  Ottilia,  Countess  of  Gleichen ;  a  wife  not  standing,  it 
is  true,  in  the  odour  of  sanctity,  yet  in  respect  of  personal  en- 
dowments, and  virtuous  conduct,  inferior  to  none  of  her  contem- 
poraries. 

Landgraf  Ludwig,  a  trusty  feudatory  of  the  Emperor,  had 
issued  general  orders  for  his  vassals  to  collect,  and  attend  him 
to  the  camp.  But  most  of  them  sought  pretexts  for  politely 
declining  this  honour.  One  was  tormented  by  the  gout,  another 
by  the  stone;  one  had  got  his  horses  foundered,  another's  armoury 
had  been  destroyed  by  fire.  Count  Ernst  of  Gleichen,  however, 
with  a  little  troop  of  stout  retainers,  who  were  free  and  unen- 
cumbered, and  took  pleasure  in  the  prospect  of  distant  adven- 
tures, equipped  their  squires  and  followers,  obeyed  the  orders  of 
the  Landgraf,  and  led  their  people  to  the  place  of  rendezvous. 
The  Count  had  been  wedded  for  two  years ;  and  in  this  period 
his  lovely  consort  had  presented  him  with  two  children,  a  little 
master  and  a  little  miss,  which,  according  to  the  custom  of  those 
stalwart  ages,  had  been  born  without  the  aid  of  science,  fair  and 


100 


MUS-EUS. 


softly  as  the  dew  from  tlie  Twilight.  A  third  pledge,  which  she 
carried  under  her  heart,  was,  by  virtue  of  the  Pope's  insonmo- 
leucy,  destined,  when  it  saw  the  light,  to  forego  the  embraces  of 
its  father.  Although  Count  Ernst  put  on  the  rugged  aspect  of  a 
man,  Nature  maintained  her  rights  in  him,  and  he  could  not  hide 
his  strong  feelings  of  tenderness,  when  at  parting  he  quitted  the 
embraces  of  his  weeping  spouse.  As  in  dumb  sorrow  he  was 
leaving  her,  she  toned  hastily  to  the  cradle  of  her  children  ; 
plucked  out  of  it  her  sleeping  boy ;  pressed  it  softly  to  her  breast, 
and  held  it  with  tearful  eyes  to  the  father,  to  imprint  a  parting 
kiss  on  its  unconscious  cheek.  With  her  little  girl  she  did  the 
same  This  gave  the  Count  a  sharp  twinge  about  the  heart : 
his  lips  began  to  quiver,  his  mouth  visibly  increased  in  breadth ; 
and  sobbing  aloud,  he  pressed  the  infants  to  his  steel  cuirass, 
under  which  there  beat  a  very  soft  and  feeling  heart ;  kissed 
them  from  then-  sleep,  and  recommended  them,  together  with 
their  much  loved  mother,  to  the  keeping  of  God  and  all  the 
Saints.  As  he  winded  down  along  the  castle  road  with  his 
harnessed  troop  from  the  high  fortress  of  Gleicken,  she  looked 
after  him  with  desolate  sadness,  till  his  banner,  upon  which  she 
herself  had  wrought  the  Red-cross  with  fine  purple  silk,  no  longer 
floated  in  her  vision. 

Landgraf  Ludwig  was  exceedingly  contented  as  he  saw  his 
stately  vassal,  and  his  knights  and  squires,  advancing  with  their 
flag  unfurled ;  but  on  viewing  him  more  narrowly,  and  noticing 
his  trouble,  he  grew  wroth ;  for  he  thought  the  Count  was  faint 
of  heart,  and  out  of  humour  with  the  expedition,  and  following  it 
against  his  will.  Therefore  his  brow  wrinkled  down  into  frowns, 
and  the  landgraphic  nostrils  sniffed  displeasure.  Count  Ernst 
had  a  fine  pathognomic  eye ;  he  soon  observed  what  ailed  his 
lord,  and  going  boldly  up,  disclosed  to  him  the  reason  of  his 
cloudy  mood.  His  words  were  as  oil  on  the  vinegar  of  dis- 
content ;  the  Landgraf,  with  honest  frankness,  seized  his  vas- 
sal's hand,  and  said:  "  Ah,  is  it  so,  good  cousin?  Then  the 
shoe  pinches  both  of  us  in  one  place ;  Elizabeth's  good-b'ye  has 
given  me  a  sore  heart  too.  But  be  of  good  cheer !  While  we 
are  fighting  abroad,  our  wives  will  be  praying  at  home,  that  we 
may  return  with  renown  and  glory."  Such  was  the  custom  oi 
the  country  in  those  days  :  while  the  husband  took  the  field,  the 
wife  continued  in  her  chamber,  solitary  and  still,  fasting  and 
praying,  and  making  vows  without  end,  for  his  prosperous  re- 


MELECHSALA. 


101 


turn.  This  old  usage  is  not  universal  in  the  land  at  present ; 
as  the  last  crusade  of  our  German  warriors  to  the  distant  West,1 
by  the  rich  increase  of  families  during  the  absence  of  their  heroic 
heads,  has  sufficiently  made  manifest. 

The  pious  Elizabeth  felt  no  less  pain  at  parting  from  her 
husband  than  her  fair  companion  in  distress,  the  Countess  of 
Gleichen.  Though  her  lord  the  Landgraf  was  rather  of  a  stormy 
disposition,  she  had  lived  with  him  in  the  most  perfect  unity : 
and  his  terrestrial  mass  was  by  degrees  so  imbued  with  the 
sanctity  of  his  helpmate,  that  some  beneficent  historians  have 
appended  to  him  likewise  the  title  of  Saint ;  which,  however, 
must  be  looked  on  rather  as  a  charitable  compliment  than  a  real 
statement  of  the  truth ;  as  with  us,  in  these  times,  the  epithets 
of  great,  magnanimous,  immortal,  erudite,  profound,  for  the  most 
part  indicate  no  more  than  a  little  outward  edge-gilding.  So  much 
appears  from  all  the  circumstances,  that  the  elevated  couple  did 
not  always  harmonise  in  works  of  holiness  ;  nay,  that  the  Powers 
of  Heaven  had  to  interfere  at  times  in  the  domestic  differences 
thence  arising,  to  maintain  the  family  peace  :  as  the  following 
example  will  evince.  The  pious  lady,  to  the  great  dissatisfaction 
of  her  courtiers  and  lip-licking  pages,  had  the  custom  of  reserv- 
ing from  the  Landgraf 's  table  the  most  savoury  dishes  for  certain 
hungry  beggars,  who  incessantly  beleaguered  the  castle  ;  and  she 
used  to  give  herself  the  satisfaction,  when  the  court  dinner  was 
concluded,  of  distributing  this  kind  donation  to  the  poor  with  her 
own  hands.  According  to  the  courtly  system,  whereby  thrift  on  the 
small  scale  is  always  to  make  up  for  wastefulness  on  the  great, 
the  meritorious  cook-department  every  now  and  then  complained 
of  this  as  earnestly  as  if  the  whole  dominions  of  Thuringia  had 
run  the  risk  of  being  eaten  up  by  these  lank-sided  guests ;  and 
the  Landgraf,  who  dabbled  somewhat  in  economy,  regarded  it  as 
so  important  an  affair,  that,  in  all  seriousness,  he  strictly  forbade 
his  consort  this  labour  of  love,  which  had  through  time  become 
her  spiritual  hobby.  Nevertheless,  one  day  the  impulse  of  be- 
nevolence, and  the  temptation  to  break  through  her  husband's 
orders  in  pursuit  of  it,  became  too  strong  to  be  resisted.  She 
beckoned  to  her  women,  who  were  then  uncovering  the  table,  to 
take  off  some  untouched  dishes,  with  a  few  rolls  of  wheaten  bread, 
and  keep  them  as  smuggled  goods.  These  she  packed  into  a  little 
basket,  and  stole  out  with  it  by  a  postern  gate. 

1  Of  the  Hessian  troops  to  America,  during  the  Revolutionary  War. — Ed. 


102 


MUSiEUS. 


But  the  watchers  had  got  wind  of  it,  and  betrayed  it  to  the 
Landgraf,  who  gave  instant  orders  for  a  strict  guard  upon  all  the 
outlets  of  the  castle.  Being  told  that  his  lady  had  been  seen 
gliding  with  a  heavy  load  through  the  postern,  he  proceeded  with 
majestic  strides  across  the  court -yard,  and  stept  out  upon  the 
drawbridge,  as  if  to  take  a  mouthful  of  fresh  air.  Alas  !  The 
pious  lady  heard  the  jingling  of  his  golden  spurs ;  and  fear  and 
terror  came  upon  her,  till  her  knees  trembled,  and  she  could  not 
move  another  footstep.  She  concealed  the  victual-basket  under 
her  apron,  that  modest  covering  of  female  charms  and  roguery ; 
but  whatever  privileges  this  inviolable  asylum  may  enjoy  against 
excisemen  and  officers  of  customs,  it  is  no  wall  of  brass  for  a 
husband.  The  Landgraf,  smelling  mischief,  hastened  to  the 
place ;  his  sunburnt  cheeks  were  reddened  with  indignation,  and 
the  veins  swelled  fearfully  upon  his  brow. 

"  Wife,"  said  he,  in  a  hasty  tone,  "  what  hast  thou  in  the 
basket  thou  art  hiding  from  me  ?  Is  it  victuals  from  my  table, 
for  thy  vile  crew  of  vagabonds  and  beggars  ?" 

"  Not  at  all,  dear  lord,"  replied  Elizabeth,  meekly,  but  with 
embarrassment,  who  held  herself  entitled,  without  prejudice  to 
her  sanctity,  to  make  a  little  slip  in  the  present  critical  position 
of  affairs  :  ' '  it  is  nothing  but  a  few  roses  that  I  gathered  in  the 
garden." 

Had  the  Landgraf  been  one  of  our  contemporaries,  he  must 
have  believed  his  lady  on  her  word  of  honour,  and  desisted  from 
farther  search ;  but  in  those  wild  times  the  minds  of  men  were 
not  so  polished. 

"  Let  us  see,"  said  the  imperious  husband,  and  sharply  pulled 
the  apron  to  a  side.  The  tender  wife  had  no  defence  against  this 
violence  but  by  recoiling  :  "0 !  softly,  softly,  my  dear  husband  !" 
said  she,  and  blushed  for  shame  at  being  detected  in  a  falsehood, 
in  presence  of  her  servants.  But,  0  wonder  upon  wonder !  the 
corpus  delicti  was  in  very  deed  transformed  into  the  fairest  bloom- 
ing roses ;  the  rolls  had  changed  to  white  roses,  the  sausages  to 
red,  the  omelets  to  yellow  ones  !  With  joyful  amazement  the 
saintly  dame  observed  this  metamorphosis,  and  knew  not  whethei 
to  believe  her  eyes  ;  for  she  had  never  given  credit  to  her  Guardian 
Angel  for  such  delicate  politeness,  as  to  work  a  miracle  in  favour 
of  a  lady,  when  the  point  was  to  cajole  a  rigorous  husband,  and 
make  good  a  female  affirmation. 

So  visible  a  proof  of  innocence  allayed  the  fierceness  of  the 


MELECHSALA. 


103 


Lion.  He  now  turned  his  tremendous  looks  on  the  down- stricken 
serving-men,  who,  as  it  was  apparent,  had  been  groundlessly  ca- 
lumniating his  angelic  wife ;  he  scornfully  rated  them,  and  swore 
a  deep  oath,  that  the  first  eaves-dropping  pickthank  who  again 
accused  his  virtuous  wife  to  him,  he  would  cast  into  the  dungeon, 
and  there  let  him  lie  and  rot.  This  done,  he  took  a  rose  from 
the  basket,  and  stuck  it  in  his  hat,  in  triumph  for  his  lady's  in- 
nocence. History  has  not  certified  us,  whether,  on  the  following 
day,  he  found  a  withered  rose  or  a  cold  sausage  there  :  in  the 
mean  time  it  assures  us,  that  the  saintly  wife,  when  her  lord  had 
left  her  with  the  kiss  of  peace,  and  she  herself  had  recovered 
from  her  fright,  stept  down  the  hill,  much  comforted  in  heart, 
to  the  meadow  where  her  nurslings,  the  lame  and  blind,  the 
naked  and  the  hungry,  were  awaiting  her,  to  dole  out  among 
them  her  intended  bounty.  For  she  well  knew  that  the  mi- 
raculous deception  would  again  vanish  were  she  there,  as  in 
reality  it  did;  for,  on  opening  her  victual  -  magazine  she  found 
no  roses  at  all,  but  in  their  stead  the  nutritious  crumbs  which 
she  had  snatched  from  the  teeth  of  the  castle  bone-polishers. 

Though  now,  by  the  departure  of  her  husband,  she  was  to  be 
freed  from  his  rigorous  superintendence,  and  obtain  free  scope  to 
execute  her  labours  of  love  in  secret  or  openly,  when  and  where 
it  pleased  her,  yet  she  loved  her  imperious  husband  so  faithfully 
and  sincerely,  that  she  could  not  part  from  him  without  the 
deepest  sorrow.  Ah  !  she  foreboded  but  too  well,  that  in  this 
world  she  should  not  see  him  any  more.  And  for  the  enjoyment 
of  him  in  the  other,  the  aspect  of  affairs  was  little  better.  A 
canonised  Saint  has  such  preferment  there,  that  all  other  Saints 
compared  with  her  are  but  a  heavenly  mob. 

High  as  the  Landgraf  had  been  stationed  in  this  sublunary 
world,  it  was  a  question  whether,  in  the  courts  of  Heaven,  he 
might  be  found  worthy  to  kneel  on  the  footstool  of  her  throne, 
and  raise  his  eyes  to  his  former  bedmate.  Yet,  many  vows  as 
she  made,  many  good  works  as  she  did,  much  as  her  prayers  in 
other  cases  had  availed  with  all  the  Saints,  her  credit  in  the  upper 
world  was  not  sufficient  to  stretch  out  her  husband's  term  a  span. 
He  died  on  this  march,  in  the  bloom  of  life,  of  a  malignant  fever, 
at  Otranto,  before  he  had  acquired  the  knightly  merit  of  chining 
a  single  Saracen.  While  he  was  preparing  for  departure,  and  the 
time  was  come  for  him  to  give  the  world  his  blessing,  he  called 
Count  Ernst  from  among  his  other  servants  and  vassals  to  his 


104 


MUS^US. 


bedside ;  appointed  him  commander  of  the  troops  which  he  him- 
self had  led  thus  far,  and  made  him  swear  that  he  would  not 
return  till  he  had  thrice  drawn  his  sword  against  the  Infidel. 
Then  he  took  the  holy  viaticum  from  the  hands  of  his  marching 
chaplain;  and  ordering  as  many  masses  for  his  soul,  as  might 
have  brought  himself  and  all  his  followers  triumphantly  into  the 
New  Jerusalem,  he  breathed  his  last.  Count  Ernst  had  the  corpse 
of  his  lord  embalmed :  he  enclosed  it  in  a  silver  coffin,  and  sent 
it  to  the  widowed  lady,  who  wore  mourning  for  her  husband  like 
a  Roman  Empress,  for  she  never  laid  her  weeds  aside  while  she 
continued  in  this  world. 

Count  Ernst  of  Gleichen  forwarded  the  pilgrimage  as  much 
as  possible,  and  arrived  in  safety  with  his  people  in  the  camp  at 
Ptolemais.  Here,  it  was  rather  a  theatrical  emblem  of  war  than 
a  serious  campaign  that  met  his  view.  For  as  on  our  stages,  when 
they  represent  a  camp  or  field  of  battle,  there  are  merely  a  few 
tents  erected  in  the  foreground,  and  a  little  handful  of  players 
scuffling  together ;  but  in  the  distance  many  painted  tents  and 
squadrons  to  assist  the  illusion,  and  cheat  the  eye,  the  whole 
being  merely  intended  for  an  artificial  deception  of  the  senses  ; 
so  also  was  the  crusading  army  a  mixture  of  fiction  and  reality. 
Of  the  numerous  heroic  hosts  that  left  their  native  country,  it 
was  always  the  smallest  part  that  reached  the  boundaries  of  the 
land  they  had  gone  forth  to  conquer.  But  few  were  devoured  by 
the  swords  of  the  Saracens.  These  Infidels  had  powerful  allies, 
whom  they  sent  beyond  their  frontiers,  and  who  made  brisk  work 
among  their  enemies,  though  getting  neither  wages  nor  thanks 
for  their  good  service.  These  allies  were,  Hunger  and  Naked- 
ness, Perils  by  land  and  water  and  among  bad  brethren,  Frost 
and  Heat,  Pestilence  and  malignant  Boils ;  and  the  grinding 
Home-sickness  also  fell  at  times  like  a  heavy  Incubus  upon  the 
steel  harness,  and  crushed  it  together  like  soft  pasteboard,  and 
spurred  the  steed  to  a  quick  return.  Under  these  circumstances, 
Count  Ernst  had  little  hope  of  speedily  fulfilling  his  oath,  and 
thrice  dyeing  his  knightly  sword  in  unbelieving  blood,  as  must  be 
done  before  he  thought  of  returning.  For  three  days'  journey 
round  the  camp,  no  Arab  archer  was  to  be  seen ;  the  weakness 
of  the  Christian  host  lay  concealed  behind  its  bulwarks  and  en- 
trenchments ;  they  did  not  venture  'out  to  seek  the  distant  enemy, 
but  waited  for  the  slow  help  of  his  slumbering  Holiness,  who,  since 
the  wakeful  night  that  gave  rise  to  this  Crusade,  had  enjoyed  un- 


MELECHSALA. 


105 


broken  sleep,  and  about  the  issue  of  the  Holy  War  had  troubled 
himself  very  little. 

In  this  inaction,  as  inglorious  to  the  Christian  army,  as  of 
old  that  loitering  was  to  the  Greeks  before  the  walls  of  bloody 
but  courageous  Troy,  where  the  godlike  Achilles,  with  his  con- 
federates, moped  so  long  about  his  fair  Briseis, — the  chivalry  of 
Christendom  kept  up  much  jollity  and  recreation  in  their  camp, 
to  kill  lazy  time,  and  scare  away  the  blue  devils ;  the  Italians, 
with  song  and  harping,  to  which  the  nimble -footed  Frenchmen 
danced  ;  the  solemn  Spaniards  with  chess  ;  the  English  with  cock- 
fighting;  the  .  Germans  with  feasting  and  wassail. 

Count  Ernst,  taking  small  delight  in  any  of  these  pastimes, 
amused  himself  with  hunting  ;  made  war  on  the  foxes  in  the  dry 
wildernesses,  and  pursued  the  shy  chamois  into  the  barren  moun- 
tains. The  knights  of  his  train  "disagreed"  with  the  glowing 
sun  by  day,  and  the  damp  evening  air  under  the  open  sky,  and 
sneaked  to  a  side  when  their  lord  called  for  his  horses  ;  therefore, 
in  his  hunting  expeditions,  he  was  generally  attended  only  by  his 
faithful  Squire,  named  the  mettled  Kurt,  and  a  single  groom. 
Once,  his  eagerness  in  clambering  after  the  chamois,  had  carried 
him  to  such  a  distance,  that  the  sun  was  dipping  in  the  Mid-sea 
wave  before  he  thought  of  returning ;  and,  fast  as  he  hastened 
homewards,  night  came  upon  him  at  a  distance  from  the  camp. 
The  appearance  of  some  treacherous  ignes  fatui,  which  he  mis- 
took for  the  watch-fires,  led  him  off  still  farther.  On  discovering 
his  error,  he  resolved  to  rest  beneath  a  tree  till  daybreak.  The 
trusty  Squire  prepared  a  bed  of  soft  moss  for  his  lord,  who,  wearied 
by  the  heat  of  the  day,  fell  asleep  before  he  could  lift  his  hand  to 
bless  himself,  according  to  custom,  with  the  sign  of  the  cross. 
But  to  the  mettled  Kurt  there  came  no  wink  of  sleep,  for  he  was 
by  nature  watchful  like  a  bird  of  darkness ;  and  though  this  gift 
had  not  belonged  to  him,  his  faithful  care  for  his  lord  would  have 
kept  him  waking.  The  night,  as  usual  in  the  climate  of  Asia, 
was  serene  and  still ;  the  stars  twinkled  in  pure  diamond  light  ; 
and  solemn  silence,  as  in  the  Valley  of  Death,  reigned  over  the 
wide  desert.  No  breath  of  air  was  stirring,  yet  the  nocturnal 
coolness  poured  life  and  refreshment  over  herb  and  living  thing. 
But  about  the  third  watch,  when  the  morning  star  had  begun  to 
announce  the  coming  day,  there  arose  a  din  in  the  dusky  re- 
moteness, like  the  voice  of  a  forest  stream  rushing  over  some  steep 
precipice.    The  watchful  squire  listened  eagerly,  and  sent  his 


106 


MUSiEUS. 


other  senses  also  out  for  tidings,  as  his  sharp  eye  could  not  pierce 
the  veil  of  darkness.  He  hearkened,  and  snuffed  at  the  same 
time,  like  a  bloodhound,  for  a  scent  came  towards  him  as  of  sweet- 
smelling  herbs  and  trodden  grass,  and  the  strange  noise  appeared 
to  be  approaching.  He  laid  his  ear  to  the  ground,  and  heard  a 
trampling  as  of  horses'  hoofs,  which  led  him  to  conclude  that  the 
Infernal  Chase  was  hunting  in  these  parts.  A  cold  shudder  passed 
over  him,  and  his  terror  grew  extreme.  He  shook  his  master 
from  sleep  ;  and  the  latter,  having  roused  himself,  soon  saw  that 
here  another  than  a  spectral  host  was  to  be  fronted.  Whilst  his 
groom  girded  up  the  horses,  the  Count  had  his  harness  buckled 
on  in  all  haste. 

The  dim  shadows  gradually  withdrew,  and  the  advancing 
morning  tinted  the  eastern  hem  of  the  horizon  with  purple  light. 
The  Count  now  discovered,  what  he  had  anticipated,  a  host  of 
Saracens  approaching,  all  equipped  for  fight,  to  snatch  some  booty 
from  the  Christians.  To  escape  their  hands  was  hopeless,  and 
the  hospitable  tree  in  the  wide  solitary  plain  gave  no  shelt&r  to 
conceal  horse  and  man  behind  it.  Unluckily  the  massy  steed 
was  not  a  Hippogryph,  but  a  heavy-bodied  Frieslander,  to  which, 
by  reason  of  its  make,  the  happy  talent  of  bearing  off  its  master 
on  the  wings  of  the  wind  had  not  been  allotted ;  therefore  the 
gallant  hero  gave  his  soul  to  the  keeping  of  God  and  the  Holy 
Virgin,  and  resolved  on  dying  like  a  knight.  He  bade  his  serv- 
ants follow  him,  and  sell  their  lives  as  dear  as  might  be.  There- 
upon he  pricked  the  Frieslander  boldly  forward,  and  dashed  right 
into  the  middle  of  the  hostile  squadron,  who  had  been  expecting 
no  such  sudden  onset  from  a  single  knight.  The  Pagans  started 
in  astonishment,  and  flew  asunder  like  light  chaff  when  scattered 
by  the  wind.  But  seeing  that  the  enemy  was  only  three  men 
strong,  their  courage  rose,  and  there  began  an  unequal  battle,  in 
which  valour  was  surpassed  by  number.  The  Count  meanwhile 
kept  plunging  yarely  through  the  ranks ;  the  point  of  his  lance 
gleamed  death  and  destruction  to  the  Infidel ;  and  when  it  found 
its  man,  he  flew  inevitably  from  his  saddle.  Their  Captain  him- 
self, who  ran  at  him  with  grim  fury,  his  manly  arm  laid  low,  and 
with  his  victorious  spear  transfixed  him  writhing  in  the  dust,  as 
St.  George  of  England  did  the  Dragon.  The  mettled  Kurt  went 
on  with  no  less  briskness ;  though  availing  little  for  attack,  he 
was  a  master  in  the  science  of  dispatching,  and  sent  all  to  pot 
who  did  not  make  resistance ;  as  a  modern  critic  butchers  the 


MELECHSALA. 


107 


defenceless  rabble  of  the  lame  and  halt,  who  venture  with  such 
courage  in  our  days  into  the  literary  tilt-yard  :  and  if  now  and 
then  some  fainting  invalid,  with  furious  aim,  like  an  exasperated 
Reviewer-hunter,  did  hurl  a  stone  at  him  with  enfeebled  fist,  he 
heeded  it  little ;  for  he  knew  well  that  his  basnet  and  iron  jack 
would  turn  a  moderate  thump.  The  groom,  too,  did  his  best  to 
make  clear  ground  about  him,  and  kept  his  master's  back  un- 
harmed. But  as  nine  gad-flies  will  beat  the  strongest  horse ; 
four  Caffre  bulls  an  African  lion ;  and,  by  the  common  tale,  one 
troop  of  mice  an  archbishop,  as  the  Mdusethurm,  or  Mouse -tower, 
on  the  Rhine,  by  Hiibner's  account,  gives  open  testimony;  so  the 
Count  of  Gleichen,  after  doing  knightly  battle,  was  at  length  over- 
powered by  the  number  of  his  enemies.  His  arm  grew  weary,  his 
lance  was  shivered  into  splinters,  his  sword  became  blunt,  and  his 
Friesland  horse  at  last  staggered  down  upon  the  gory  battle-field. 
The  Knight's  fall  was  the  watch-word  of  victory;  a  hundred  vali- 
ant arms  stormed  in  on  him  to  wrench  away  his  sword,  and  his 
hand  had  no  longer  any  strength  for  resistance.  As  the  mettled 
Kurt  observed  the  Knight  come  down,  his  own  courage  sank  also, 
and  along  with  it  the  pole-axe,  wherewith  he  had  so  magnanim- 
ously hammered  in  the  Saracenic  skulls.  He  surrendered  at  dis- 
cretion, and  pressingly  entreated  quarter.  The  groom  stood  in 
blank  rumination ;  bore  himself  enduringly ;  and  awaited  with 
oxlike  equanimity  the  stroke  of  some  mace  upon  his  basnet,  which 
should  crush  him  to  the  ground. 

But  the  Saracens  were  less  inhuman  victors  than  the  con- 
quered could  have  expected ;  they  disarmed  their  three  prisoners 
of  war,  and  did  them  no  bodily  harm  whatever.  This  mild  usage 
took  its  rise  not  in  any  movement  of  philanthropy,  but  in  mere 
spy's-mercy :  from  a  dead  enemy  there  is  nothing  to  be  learnt, 
and  the  special  object  of  this  roaming  troop  had  been  to  get  correct 
intelligence  about  the  state  of  matters  in  the  Christian  host  at 
Ptolemais.  The  captives,  being  questioned  and  heard,  were  next, 
according  to  the  Asiatic  fashion,  furnished  with  slave-fetters ;  and 
as  a  ship  was  just  then  lying  ready  to  set  sail  for  Alexandria,  the 
Bey  of  Asdod  sent  them  off  with  it  as  a  present  to  the  Sultan  of 
Egypt,  to  confirm  at  Court  their  description  of  the  Christian  re- 
sources and  position.  The  rumour  of  the  bold  Frank's  valour  had 
arrived  before  him  at  the  gates  of  Grand  Cairo  ;  and  so  pugnacious 
a  prisoner  might,  on  entering  the  hostile  metropolis,  have  merited 
as  pompous  a  reception  as  the  Twelfth  of  April  saw  bestowed  upon 


108 


MUS^US. 


the  Comte  de  Grasse  in  London,  where  the  merry  capital  ernu- 
lously  strove  to  let  the  conquered  sea-hero  feel  the  honour  which 
their  victory  had  done  him :  but  Moslem  self-conceit  allows  no 
justice  to  foreign  merit.  Count  Ernst,  in  the  garb  of  a  felon, 
loaded  with  heavy  chains,  was  quietly  locked  into  the  Grated 
Tower,  where  the  Sultan's  slaves  were  wont  to  be  kept. 

Here,  in  long  painful  nights,  and  mournful  solitary  days,  he 
had  time  and  leisure  to  survey  the  grim  stony  aspect  of  his  future 
life ;  and  it  required  as  much  steadfastness  and  courage  to  bear 
up  under  these  contemplations,  as  to  tilt  it  on  the  battle-field 
among  a  wandering  horde  of  Arabs.  The  image  of  his  former 
domestic  happiness  kept  hovering  before  his  eyes ;  he  thought  of 
his  gentle  wife,  and  the  tender  shoots  of  their  chaste  love.  Ah  ! 
how  he  cursed  the  miserable  feud  of  Mother-church  with  the  Gog 
and  Magog  of  the  East,  which  had  robbed  him  of  his  fair  lot  in 
existence,  and  fettered  him  in  slave-shackles  never  to  be  loosed  ! 
In  such  moments  he  was  ready  to  despair  altogether;  and  his 
piety  had  well-nigh  made  shipwreck  on  this  rock  of  offence. 

In  the  days  of  Count  Ernst  there  was  current,  among  anec- 
dotic persons,  a  wondrous  story  of  Duke  Henry  the  Lion,  which 
at  that  period,  as  a  thing  that  had  occurred  within  the  memory 
of  man,  found  great  credence  in  the  German  Empire.  The  Duke, 
so  runs  the  tale,  while  proceeding  over  sea  to  the  Holy  Land,  was, 
in  a  tempest,  cast  away  upon  a  desert  part  of  the  African  coast ; 
where,  escaping  alone  from  shipwreck,  he  found  shelter  and  suc- 
cour in  the  den  of  a  hospitable  Lion.  This  kindness  in  the  savage 
owner  of  the  cave  had  its  origin  not  in  the  heart,  but  in  the  left 
hind-paw ;  while  hunting  in  the  Libyan  wilderness,  he  had  run  a 
thorn  into  his  foot,  which  so  tormented  him,  that  he  could  hardly 
move,  and  had  entirely  forgotten  his  natural  voracity.  The  ac- 
quaintance being  formed,  and  mutual  confidence  established  be- 
tween the  parties,  the  Duke  assumed  the  office  of  chirurgeon  to 
the  royal  beast,  and  laboriously  picked  out  the  thorn  from  his 
foot.  The  patient  rapidly  recovered,  and,  mindful  of  the  service, 
entertained  his  lodger  with  his  best  from  the  produce  of  his  plun- 
der; and,  though  a  Lion,  was  as  friendly  and  officious  towards 
him  as  a  lap-dog. 

The  Duke,  however,  soon  grew  weary  of  the  cold  collations 
of  his  four-footed  landlord,  and  began  to  long  for  the  flesh-pots  of 
his  own  far-distant  kitchen ;  for  in  readying  the  game  handed  in 
to  him,  he  by  no  means  rivalled  his  Brunswick  cook.  Then 


MELECHSAIA. 


109 


the  home-sickness  came  upon  him  like  a  heavy  load  ;  and  seeing 
no  possibility  of  ever  getting  back  to  his  paternal  heritage,  the 
thought  of  this  so  grieved  his  soul,  that  he  wasted  visibly,  and 
pined  like  a  wounded  hart.  Thereupon  the  Tempter,  with  his 
wonted  impudence  in  desert  places,  came  before  him,  in  the  figure 
of  a  little  swart  wrinkled  manikin,  whom  the  Duke  at  first  sight 
took  for  an  ourang-outang ;  but  it  was  the  Devil  himself,  Satan 
in  proper  person,  and  he  grinned,  and  said :  ' '  Duke  Henry,  what 
ails  thee  ?  If  thou  trust  to  me,  I  will  put  an  end  to  all  thy  sor- 
row, and  take  thee  home  to  thy  wife  to  sup  with  her  this  night 
in  the  Castle  of  Brunswick  ;  for  a  lordly  supper  is  making  ready 
there,  seeing  she  is  about  to  wed  another  man,  having  lost  hope 
of  thy  life." 

This  despatch  came  rolling  like  a  thunder-clap  into  the  Duke's 
ear,  and  cut  him  through  the  heart  like  a  sharp  two-edged  sword. 
Rage  burnt  in  his  eyes  like  flames  of  fire,  and  desperation  up- 
roared  in  his  breast.  If  Heaven  will  not  help  me  in  this  crisis, 
thought  he,  then  let  Hell !  It  was  one  of  those  entangling  situa- 
tions which  the  Arch-crimp,  with  his  consummate  skill  in  psycho- 
logical science,  can  employ  so  dextrously  when  the  enlisting  of  a 
soul  that  he  has  cast  an  eye  on  is  to  prosper  in  his  hands.  The 
Duke,  without  hesitation,  buckled  on  his  golden  spurs,  girded  his 
sword  about  his  loins,  and  put  himself  in  readiness.  "  Quick,  my 
good  fellow  !"  said  he  ;  "  carry  me,  and  this  my  trusty  Lion,  to 
Brunswick,  before  the  varlet  reach  my  bed!" — "Well!"  answered 
Blackbeard,  "but  dost  thou  know  the  carriage  -  dues  ?" — "Ask 
what  thou  wilt !"  said  Duke  Henry;  "it  shall  be  given  thee  at 
thy  word." — "  Thy  soul  at  sight  in  the  other  world,"  replied  Beel- 
zebub.— "  Done  !  Be  it  so !"  cried  furious  jealousy,  from  Henry's 
mouth. 

The  bargain  was  forthwith  concluded  in  legal  form,  between 
the  two  contracting  parties.  The  Infernal  Kite  directly  changed 
himself  into  a  winged  Griffin,  and  seizing  the  Duke  in  the  one 
clutch,  and  the  trusty  Lion  in  the  other,  conveyed  them  both  in 
one  night  from  the  Libyan  coast  to  Brunswick,  the  towering  city, 
founded  on  the  lasting  basis  of  the  Harz,  which  even  the  lying 
prophecies  of  the  Zillerfeld  vaticinator  have  not  ventured  to  over- 
throw. There  he  set  down  his  burden  safely  in  the  middle  of  the 
market-place,  and  vanished,  just  as  the  watchman  was  blowing  his 
horn  with  intent  to  proclaim  the  hour  of  midnight,  and  then  carol 
forth  a  superannuated  bridal -song  from  his  rusty  mum -washed 


110 


MUS^JUS. 


weasand.  The  ducal  palace,  and  the  whole  city,  still  gleamed  like 
the  starry  heaven  with  the  nuptial  illumination ;  every  street  re- 
sounded with  the  din  and  tumult  of  the  gay  people  streaming  for- 
ward to  gaze  on  the  decorated  bride,  and  the  solemn  torch- dance 
with  which  the  festival  was  to  conclude.  The  Aeronaut,  un- 
wearied by  his  voyage,  pressed  on  amid  the  crowding  multitude 
through  the  entrance  of  the  Palace ;  advanced  with  clanking 
spurs,  under  the  guidance  of  his  trusty  Lion,  to  the  banquet- 
chamber  ;  drew  his  sword,  and  cried:  "  With  me,  whoever 
stands  by  Duke  Henry;  and  to  traitors,  death  and  hell!"  The 
Lion  also  bellowed,  as  if  seven  thunders  had  been  uttering  their 
united  voices ;  shook  his  awful  mane,  and  furiously  erected  his 
tail,  as  the  signal  of  attack.  The  cornets  and  kettle-drums  struck 
silent  suddenly,  and  a  horrid  sound  of  battle  pealed  from  the 
tumult  in  the  wedding-hall,  up  to  the  very  Gothic  roof,  till  the 
walls  rang  with  it,  and  the  thresholds  shook. 

The  golden-haired  bridegroom,  and  his  party-coloured  butter- 
flies of  courtiers,  fell  beneath  the  sword  of  the  Duke,  as  the 
thousand  Philistines  beneath  the  ass's  jaw-bone,  in  the  sturdy 
fist  of  the  son  of  Manoah ;  and  he  who  escaped  the  sword,  rushed 
into  the  Lion's  throat,  and  was  butchered  like  a  defenceless  lamb. 
When  the  forward  wooer  and  his  retinue  of  serving-men  and 
nobles  were  abolished,  Duke  Henry,  having  used  his  household 
privilege  as  sternly  as  of  old  the  wise  Ulysses  to  the  wooing-club 
of  his  chaste  Penelope,  sat  down  to  table,  refreshed  in  spirit, 
beside  his  wife,  who  was  just  beginning  to  recover  from  the  deadly 
fright  his  entrance  had  caused  her.  While  briskly  enjoying  the 
dainties  of  his  cook,  which  had  not  been  prepared  for  him,  he 
cast  a  glance  of  triumph  on  his  new  conquest,  and  perceived  that 
she  was  bathed  in  ambiguous  tears,  which  might  as  well  refer  to 
loss  as  to  gain.  However,  like  a  man  that  knew  the  world,  he 
explained  them  wholly  to  his  own  advantage ;  and  merely  re- 
proving her  in  gentle  words  for  the  hurry  of  her  heart,  he  from 
that  hour  entered  upon  all  his  former  rights. 

Count  Ernst  had  often  listened  to  this  strange  story,  from 
the  lips  of  his  nurse;  yet  in  riper  years,  as  an  enlightened 
sceptic,  entertained  doubts  of  its  truth.  But  in  the  dreary  lone- 
liness of  his  Grated  Tower,  the  whole  incident  acquired  a  form 
of  possibility,  and  his  wavering  nursery  belief  increased  almost 
to  conviction.  A  transit  through  the  air  appeared  to  him  the 
simplest  thing  in  nature,  if  the  Prince  of  Darkness,  in  the  gloomy 


MELECHSALA.  Ill 

midnight,  chose  to  lend  his  bat-wings  for  the  purpose.  Though 
in  obedience  to  his  religious  principles,  he  no  night  neglected  to 
cut  a  large  cross  before  him  as  he  went  to  sleep ;  yet  a  secret 
longing  awoke  in  his  heart,  without  its  own  distinct  conscious- 
ness, to  accomplish  the  same  adventure.  If  a  wandering  mouse 
in  the  night-season  happened  to  scratch  upon  the  wainscot,  he 
immediately  supposed  the  Hellish  Proteus  was  announcing  his 
arrival,  and  at  times  in  thought  he  went  so  far  as  settling  the 
freight  charges  beforehand.  But  except  the  illusion  of  a  dream, 
which  juggled  him  into  an  aerial  journey  to  his  German  native 
land,  the  Count  gained  nothing  by  his  nursery  faith,  except  em- 
ploying with  these  fantasies  a  few  vacant  hours ;  and  like  a  reader 
of  novels,  transporting  himself  into  the  situation  of  the  acting 
hero.  Why  old  Abaddon  showed  himself  so  sluggish  in  this 
case,  when  the  kidnapping  of  a  soul  was  in  the  wind,  and  in  all 
likelihood  the  enterprise  must  have  succeeded,  may  be  accounted 
for  in  two  ways.  Either  the  Count's  Guardian  Angel  was  more 
watchful  than  the  one  to  whom  Duke  Henry  had  intrusted  the 
keeping  of  his  soul,  and  resisted  so  stoutly  that  the  Evil  One 
could  get  no  advantage  over  him ;  or  the  Prince  of  the  Air  had 
grown  disgusted  with  the  transport-trade  in  this  his  own  element, 
having  been  bubbled  out  of  his  stipulated  freightage  by  Duke 
Henry  after  all  their  engagements ;  for  when  it  came  to  the 
point  with  Henry,  his  soul  was  found  to  have  so  many  good 
works  on  her  side  of  the  account,  that  the  scores  on  the  Infernal 
tally  were  altogether  cancelled  by  them. 

Whilst  Count  Ernst  was  weaving  in  romantic  dreams  a  feeble 
shadow  of  hope  for  deliverance  from  his  captivity,  and  for  a  few 
moments  in  the  midst  of  them  forgetting  his  dejection  and  misery, 
his  returning  servants  brought  the  Countess  tidings  that  their 
master  had  vanished  from  the  camp,  and  none  knew  what  had 
become  of  him.  Some  supposed  that  he  had  been  the  prey  of 
snakes  or  dragons ;  others  that  a  pestilential  blast  of  wind  had 
met  him  in  the  Syrian  desert,  and  killed  him;  others  that  he  had 
been  robbed  and  murdered,  or  taken  captive,  by  some  plundering 
troop  of  Arabs.  In  one  point  all  agreed:  That  he  was  to  be  held 
pro  mortuo,  dead  in  law,  and  that  the  Countess  was  entirely  re- 
lieved and  enfranchised  from  her  matrimonial  engagements.  But 
to  the  Countess  herself,  a  secret  foreboding  still  whispered  that 
her  lord  was  alive  notwithstanding.  Nor  did  she  by  any  means 
repress  this  thought,  which  so  solaced  her  heart :  for  hope  is 


112 


MUSiEUS. 


always  the  stoutest  stay  of  the  afflicted,  and  the  sweetest  dream 
of  life.  To  maintain  it,  she  secretly  equipped  a  trusty  servant, 
and  sent  him  out  for  tidings,  over  sea  into  the  Holy  Land.  Like 
the  raven  from  the  Ark,  this  scout  flew  to  and  fro  upon  the  waters, 
and  was  no  more  heard  of.  Then  she  sent  another  forth ;  who 
returned  after  several  years'  cruising  over  sea  and  land  ;  but  no 
olive-leaf  of  hope  was  in  his  bill.  Nevertheless  the  steadfast  lady 
doubted  not  in  the  least  that  she  should  yet  meet  her  lord  in  the 
land  of  the  living  :  for  she  had  a  firm  persuasion  that  so  tender 
and  true  a  husband  could  not  possibly  have  left  the  world  without 
in  the  catastrophe  remembering  his  wife  and  little  children  at 
home,  and  giving  them  some  token  of  his  death.  Now,  since 
the  Count's  departure,  there  had  nothing  happened  in  the  Castle  ; 
neither  in  the  armoury  by  rattling  of  the  harness,  nor  in  the  garret 
by  a  rolling  joist,  nor  in  the  bed-chamber  by  a  faint  footstep,  or 
heavy- booted  tread.  Nor  had  any  nightly  moaning  chanted  its 
Ncenia  down  from  the  high  battlements  of  the  palace ;  nor  had 
the  baleful  bird  Kreideweiss  ever  issued  its  lugubrious  death- 
summons.  In  the  absence  of  all  these  signs  of  evil  omen,  she  in- 
ferred by  the  principles  of  female  common-sense  philosophy,  which 
even  in  our  own  times  are  by  no  means  fallen  into  such  desuetude 
among  the  fair  sex,  as  Father  Aristotle's  Organum  is  among  the 
male,  that  her  much-loved  husband  was  still  living ;  a  conclusion, 
which  we  know  was  perfectly  correct.  The  fruitless  issue  of  her 
first  two  missions  of  discovery,  the  object  of  which  was  more  im- 
portant to  her  than  the  finding  of  the  Southern  Polar  Continent 
is  to  us,  she  allowed  not  in  the  least  to  deter  her  from  sending 
out  a  third  Apostle  into  All  the  World.  This  third  was  of  a  slow 
turn,  and  had  imprinted  on  his  mind  the  adage,  As  soon  gets  the 
snail  to  his  bed  as  the  sioallotv ;  therefore  he  called  at  every  inn, 
and  treated  himself  well.  And  it  being  infinitely  more  convenient 
that  the  people  whom  he  was  to  question  about  his  master  should 
come  to  him,  than  that  he  should  go  tracking  and  spying  them 
out  in  the  wide  world,  he  determined  on  choosing  a  position  where 
he  could  examine  every  passenger  from  the  East,  with  the  inso- 
lent inquisitiveness  of  a  toll-man  behind  his  barrier ;  and  fixed 
his  quarters  by  the  harbour  of  Venice.  This  Queen  of  the  Waters 
was  at  that  time,  as  it  were,  the  general  gate,  which  all  pilgrims  and 
crusaders  from  the  Holy  Land  passed  through  in  their  way  home. 
Whether  this  shrewd  genius  chose  the  best  or  the  worst  means 
for  discharging  his  appointed  function,  will  appear  in  the  sequel. 


Melechsala. 


After  a  seven-years  narrow  custody  in  the  Grated  Towcr.  at 
Grand  Cairo, — a  term  which  to  the  Count  seemed  far  longer  than 
to  the  Seven  Sleepers  their  seventy-years  sleep  in  the  Koman 
catacombs, — he  concluded  himself  to  be  forsaken  of  Heaven  and 
Hell,  and  utterly  gave  up  hope  of  ever  getting  out  in  the  body 
from  this  melancholy  cage,  where  the  kind  face  of  the  sun  was 
not  allowed  to  visit  him,  and  the  broken  daylight  struggled  faintly 
in  through  a  window  secured  with  iron  bars.  His  devil -romance 
was  long  ago  concluded ;  and  his  faith  in  miraculous  assistance 
from  his  Guardian  Saint  was  lighter  than  a  mustard-seed.  He 
vegetated  rather  than  lived ;  and  if  in  these  circumstances  any 
wish  arose  in  him,  it  was  the  wish  to  be  annihilated. 

From  this  lethargic  stupor  he  was  suddenly  aroused  by  the 
rattling  of  a  bunch  of  keys,  before  the  door  of  his  cell.  Since  the 
day  of  his  entrance,  his  jailor  had  never  more  performed  for  him 
the  office  of  turnkey ;  for  all  the  necessaries  of  the  prisoner  had 
been  conveyed  through  a  trap-board  in  the  door.  Accordingly,  it 
was  not  without  long  resistance,  and  the  bribery  of  a  little  veget- 
able oil,  that  the  rusty  bolt  obeyed  him.  But  the  creaking  of 
the  iron  hinges,  as  the  door  went  up  with  reluctant  grating,  was 
to  the  Count  a  compound  of  more  melodious  notes  than  ever  came 
from  the  Harmonica  of  Franklin.  A  foreboding  palpitation  ot 
the  heart  set  his  stagnant  blood  in  motion ;  and  he  expected  with 
impatient  longing  the  intelligence  of  a  change  in  his  fate  :  for  the 
rest,  it  was  indifferent  to  him  whether  it  brought  life  or  death. 
Two  black  slaves  entered  with  his  jailor,  at  whose  signal  they 
loosed  the  fetters  from  the  prisoner ;  and  a  second  mute  sign  from 
the  solemn  graybeard  commanded  him  to  follow.  He  obeyed  with 
faltering  steps ;  his  feet  refused  their  service,  and  he  needed  the 
support  of  the  two  slaves,  to  totter  down  the  winding  stone  stair. 
He  was  then  conducted  to  the  Captain  of  the  Prison,  who,  looking 
at  him  with  a  reproachful  air,  thus  spoke  :  "  Obstinate  Frank, 
what  made  thee  hide  the  craft  thou  art  acquainted  with,  when 
thou  wert  put  into  the  Grated  Tower  ?  One  of  thy  fellow-pri- 
soners has  betrayed  thee,  and  informed  us  that  thou  art  a  master 
in  the  art  of  gardening.  Go,  whither  the  will  of  the  Sultan  calls 
thee ;  lay  out  a  garden  in  the  manner  of  the  Franks,  and  watch 
over  it  like  the  apple  of  thy  eye ;  that  the  Flower  of  the  World 
may  blossom  in  it  pleasantly,  for  the  adorning  of  the  East." 

If  the  Count  had  got  a  call  to  Paris  to  be  Hector  of  the  Sor- 
bonne,  the  appointment  could  not  have  astonished  him  more,  than 

vol. in,  I 


in 


mvsmvs. 


this  of  being  gardener  to  the  Sultan  of  Egypt.  About  gardening 
he  understood  as  little  as  a  laic  about  the  secrets  of  the  Church. 
In  Italy,  it  is  true,  he  had  seen  many  gardens  ;  and  at  Niirnberg, 
where  the  dawn  of  that  art  was  now  first  penetrating  into  Ger- 
many, though  the  horticultural  luxury  of  the  Niirnbergers  did  not 
3ret  extend  much  farther  than  a  bowling-green,  and  a  few  beds  of 
roman  lettuce.  But  about  the  planning  of  gardens,  and  the  culti- 
vation of  plants,  like  a  martial  nobleman,  he  had  never  troubled 
his  head ;  and  his  botanic  science  was  so  limited,  that  the  Flower 
of  the  World  had  never  once  come  under  his  inspection.  Hence 
he  knew  not  in  the  least  by  what  method  it  was  to  be  treated  ; 
whether  like  the  aloe  it  must  be  brought  to  blossom  by  the  aid 
of  art,  or  like  a  common  marigold  by  the  genial  virtue  of  nature 
alone.  Nevertheless,  he  did  not  venture  to  acknowledge  his  ignor- 
ance, or  decline  the  preferment  offered  him  ;  being  reasonably 
apprehensive  that  they  might  convince  him  of  his  fitness  for  the 
post,  by  a  bastinading  on  the  soles. 

A  pleasant  park  was  assigned  him,  which  he  was  to  change 
into  a  European  garden.  The  spot  had,  either  by  the  hand  of 
bountiful  Nature,  or  of  ancient  cultivation,  been  so  happily  dis- 
posed and  ornamented  already,  that  the  new  Abdalonymus,  let 
him  cudgel  his  brains  as  he  would,  could  perceive  no  error  or 
defect  in  it,  nothing  that  admitted  of  improvement.  Besides, 
the  aspect  of  living  and  active  nature,  which  for  seven  long  years 
in  his  dreary  prison  he  had  been  obliged  to  forego,  affected  him 
at  once  so  powerfully,  that  he  inhaled  rapture  from  every  grass- 
flower,  and  looked  at  all  things  around  him  with  delight,  like  the 
First  Man  in  Paradise,  to  whom  the  scientific  thought  of  cen- 
suring anything  in  the  arrangement  of  his  Eden  did  not  occur. 
The  Count  therefore  found  himself  in  no  small  embarrassment 
about  discharging  his  commission  creditably ;  he  feared  that  every 
change  would  rob  the  garden  of  a  beauty,  and  were  he  detected 
as  a  botcher,  he  must  travel  back  into  his  Grated  Tower. 

In  the  mean  time,  as  Shiek  Kiamel,  Overseer  of  the  Gardens 
and  favourite  of  the  Sultan,  was  diligently  stimulating  him  to 
begin  the  work,  he  required  fifty  slaves,  as  necessary  for  the  exe- 
cution of  his  enterprise.  Next  morning  at  dawn,  they  were  all 
ready,  and  passed  muster  before  their  new  commander,  who  as 
yet  saw  not  how  he  should  employ  a  man  of  them.  But  how 
great  was  his  joy  as  he  perceived  the  mettled  Kurt  and  the  pon- 
derous Groom,  his  two  companions  of  misfortune,  ranked  among 


MELECHSALA. 


115 


the  troop  !  A  hundredweight  of  lead  rolled  off  his  heart,  the 
wrinkle  of  dejection  vanished  from  his  brow,  and  his  eyes  were 
enlightened,  as  if  he  had  dipt  his  staff  in  honey  and  tasted  thereof. 
He  led  the  trusty  Squire  aside,  and  frankly  informed  him  into 
what  a  heterogeneous  element  he  had  been  cast  by  the  caprices 
of  fate,  where  he  could  neither  fly  nor  swim ;  nor  could  he  in  the 
least  comprehend  what  enigmatical  mistake  had  exchanged  his 
knightly  sword  with  the  gardener's  spade.  No  sooner  had  he 
done  speaking,  than  the  mettled  Kurt,  with  wet  eyes,  fell  at  his 
feet,  then  lifted  up  his  voice  and  said:  "  Pardon,  dear  master! 
It  is  I  that  have  caused  your  perplexity  and  your  deliverance  from 
the  rascally  Grated  Tower,  which  has  kept  you  so  long  in  ward. 
Be  not  angry  that  the  innocent  deceit  of  your  servant  has  brought 
you  out  of  it ;  be  glad  rather  that  you  see  God's  sky  again  above 
your  head.  The  Sultan  required  a  garden  after  the  manner  of  the 
Franks,  and  had  proclamation  made  to  all  the  Christian  captives 
in  the  Bazam,  that  the  proper  man  should  step  forth,  and  expect 
great  recompense  if  the  undertaking  prospered.  No  one  of  them 
durst  meddle  with  it ;  but  I  recollected  your  heavy  durance.  Then 
some  good  spirit  whispered  me  the  lie  of  announcing  you  as  an 
adept  in  the  art  of  gardening,  and  it  has  succeeded  perfectly. 
And  now  never  vex  yourself  about  the  way  of  managing  the  busi- 
ness :  the  Sultan,  like  the  great  people  of  the  world,  has  a  fancy 
not  for  something  better  than  he  has  already,  but  for  something 
different,  that  may  be  new  and  singular.  Therefore,  delve  and 
devastate,  and  cut  and  carve,  in  this  glorious  field,  according  to 
your  pleasure;  and  depend  upon  it,  everything  you  do  or  purpose 
will  be  right  in  his  eyes." 

This  speech  was  as  the  murmur  of  a  running  brook  in  the 
ears  of  a  tired  wanderer  in  the  desert.  The  Count  drew  balsam 
to  his  soul  from  it,  and  courage  to  commence  with  boldness  the 
ungainly  undertaking.  He  set  his  men  to  work  at  random,  with- 
out plan ;  and  proceeded  with  the  well-ordered  shady  park,  as  one 
of  your  "  bold  geniuses"  proceeds  with  an  antiquated  author,  who 
falls  into  his  creative  hands,  and,  nill  he  will  he,  must  submit  to 
let  himself  be  modernised,  that  is  to  say,  again  made  readable 
and  likeable ;  or  as  a  new  pedagogue  with  the  ancient  forms  of 
the  Schools.  He  jumbled  in  variegated  confusion  what  he  found 
before  him,  making  all  things  different,  nothing  better.  The  pro- 
fitable fruit-trees  he  rooted  out,  and  planted  rosemary  and  vale- 
rian, and  exotic  shrubs,  or  scentless  amaranths,  in  their  stead. 


116 


MUS^US. 


The  rich  soil  he  dug  away,  and  coated  the  naked  bottom  with 
many  -  coloured  gravel,  which  he  carefully  stamped  hard,  and 
smoothed  like  a  threshing  -  floor,  that  no  blade  of  grass  might 
spring  in  it.  The  whole  space  he  divided  into  various  terraces, 
which  he  begirt  with  a  hem  of  green  ;  and  through  these  a 
strangely-twisted  flower-bed  serpentised  along,  and  ended  in  a 
knot  of  villanously- smelling  boxwood.  And  as  from  his  ignorance 
of  botany,  he  paid  no  heed  to  the  proper  seasons  for  sowing  and 
planting,  his  garden  project  hovered  for  a  long  time  between 
life  and  death,  and  had  the  aspect  of  a  suit  of  clothes  afeuille 
mourante. 

Shiek  Kiamel,  and  the  Sultan  himself,  allowed  the  Western 
gardener  to  take  his  course,  without  deranging  his  conception  by 
their  interference  or  their  dictatorial  opinion,  and  by  premature 
hypercriticism  interrupting  the  procedure  of  his  horticultural  ge- 
nius. In  this  they  acted  more  wisely  than  our  obstreperous  public, 
which,  from  our  famous  philanthropic  scheme  of  sowing  acorns, 
expected  in  a  summer  or  two  a  stock  of  strong  oaks,  fit  to  be 
masts  for  three-deckers ;  while  the  plantation  was  as  yet  so  soft 
and  feeble,  that  a  few  frosty  nights  might  have  sent  it  to  de- 
struction. Now,  indeed,  almost  in  the  middle  of  the  second 
decade  of  years  from  the  commencement  of  the  enterprise,  when 
the  first  fruits  must  certainly  be  over-ripe,  it  were  in  good  season 
for  a  German  Kiamel  to  step  forward  with  the  question :  "Planter, 
what  art  thou  about  ?  Let  us  see  what  thy  delving,  and  the  loud 
clatter  of  thy  cars  and  wheelbarrows  have  produced  ?"  And  if  the 
plantation  stood  before  him  like  that  of  the  Gleichic  Garden  at 
Grand  Cairo,  in  the  sere  and  yellow  leaf,  then  were  he  well  en- 
titled, after  due  consideration  of  the  matter,  like  the  Shiek,  to 
shake  his  head  in  silence,  to  spit  a  squirt  through  his  teeth,  and 
think  within  himself :  If  this  be  all,  it  might  have  stayed  as  it  was. 
For  one  day,  as  the  gardener  was  surveying  his  new  creation  with 
contentment,  sitting  in  judgment  on  himself,  and  pronouncing  that' 
the  work  praised  the  master,  and  that,  everything  considered,  it 
had  fallen  out  better  than  he  could  have  anticipated,  his  whole 
ideal  being  before  his  eyes,  not  only  what  was  then,  but  what 
was  to  be  made  of  it, — the  Overseer,  the  Sultan's  favourite,  stept 
into  the  garden,  and  said  :  "  Frank,  what  art  thou  about  ?  And 
how  far  art  thou  got  with  thy  labour?"  The  Count  easily  per- 
ceived that  the  produce  of  his  genius  would  now  have  to  stand 
a  rigorous  criticism ;  however,  he  had  long  been  ready  for  this 


MELECHSALA.  117 

accident.  He  collected  all  his  presence  of  mind,  and  answered 
confidently:  "Come,  sir,  and  see!  This  former  wilderness  has 
obeyed  the  hand  of  art,  and  is  now  moulded,  after  the  pattern  of 
Paradise,  into  a  scene  which  the  Houris  would  not  disdain  to  select 
for  their  abode."  The  Shiek,  hearing  a  professed  artist  speak 
with  such  apparent  warmth  and  satisfaction  of  his  own  perform- 
ance, and  giving  the  master  credit  for  deeper  insight  in  his  own 
sphere  than  he  himself  possessed,  restrained  the  avowal  of  his 
discontentment  with  the  whole  arrangement,  modestly  ascribing 
this  dislike  to  his  inacquaintance  with  foreign  taste,  and  leaving 
the  matter  to  rest  on  its  own  basis.  Nevertheless,  he  could  not 
help  putting  one  or  two  questions,  for  his  own  information ;  to 
which  the  garden  satrap  was  not  in  the  least  behindhand  with  his 
answers. 

"Where  are  the  glorious  fruit-trees,"  began  the  Shiek, 
"which  stood  on  this  sandy  level,  loaded  with  peaches  and  sweet 
lemons,  which  solaced  the  eye,  and  invited  the  promenader  to 
refreshing  enjoyment?" 

"They  are  all  hewn  away  by  the  surface,  and  their  place  is 
no  longer  to  be  found." 

"And  why  so  ?" 

"Could  the  garden  of  the  Sultan  admit  such  trash  of  trees, 
which  the  commonest  citizen  of  Cairo  cultivates,  and  the  fruit  of 
which  is  offered  for  sale  by  assloads  every  day?" 

"What  moved  thee  to  desolate  the  pleasant  grove  of  dates 
and  tamarinds,  which  was  the  wanderer's  shelter  against  the  sul- 
try noontide,  and  gave  him  coolness  and  refection  under  the  vault 
of  its  shady  boughs  ?" 

"What  has  shade  to  do  in  a  garden  which,  while  the  sun 
shoots  forth  scorching  beams,  stands  solitary  and  deserted,  and 
only  exhales  its  balsamic  odours  when  fanned  by  the  cool  breeze 
of  evening  ?" 

"But  did  not  this  grove  cover,  with  an  impenetrable  veil,  the 
secrets  of  love,  when  the  Sultan,  enchanted  by  the  charms  of  a 
fair  Circassian,  wished  to  hide  his  tenderness  from  the  jealous 
eyes  of  her  companions  ?" 

"An  impenetrable  veil  is  to  be  found  in  that  bower,  over- 
arched with  honeysuckle  and  ivy ;  or  in  that  cool  grotto,  where 
a  crystal  fountain  gushes  out  of  artificial  rocks  into  a  basin  of 
marble ;  or  in  that  covered  walk  with  its  trellises  of  clustering 
vines ;  or  on  the  sofa,  pillowed  with  soft  moss,  in  the  rustic  reed- 


» 


118  MUS2EUS. 

house  by  the  pond ;  nor  will  any  of  these  secret  shrines  afford 
lodging  for  destructive  worms,  and  buzzing  insects,  or  keep  away 
the  wafting  air,  or  shut  up  the  free  prospect,  as  the  gloomy  grove 
of  tamarinds  did." 

"But  why  hast  thou  planted  sage,  and  hyssop  which  grows 
upon  the  wall,  here  on  this  spot  where  formerly  the  precious  balm- 
tree  of  Mecca  bloomed?" 

"Because  the  Sultan  wanted  no  Arabian,  but  a  European 
garden.  In  Italy,  and  in  the  German  gardens  of  the  Nurn- 
bergers,  no  dates  are  ripened,  nor  does  any  balm-tree  of  Mecca 
bloom." 

To  this  last  argument  no  answer  could  be  made.  As  neither 
the  Shiek  nor  any  of  the  Heathen  in  Cairo  had  ever  been  at  Niirn- 
berg,  he  had  nothing  for  it  but  to  take  this  version  of  the  garden 
from  Arabic  into  German,  on  the  word  of  the  interpreter.  Only, 
he  could  not  bring  himself  to  think  that  the  present  horticultural 
reform  had  been  managed  by  the  pattern  of  the  Paradise,  ap- 
pointed by  the  Prophet  for  believing  Mussulmans  ;  and,  allowing 
the  pretension  to  be  true,  he  promised  to  himself,  from  the  joys 
of  the  future  life,  no  very  special  consolation.  There  was  nothing 
for  him,  therefore,  but,  in  the  way  above  mentioned,  to  shake  his 
head,  contemplatively  squirt  a  dash  of  liquid  out  over  his  beard, 
and  go  the  way  whence  he  had  come. 

The  Sultan  who  at  that  time  swayed  the  Egyptian  sceptre  was 
the  gallant  Malek  al  Aziz  Othman,  a  son  of  the  renowned  Saladin. 
The  fame  of  Sultan  Malek  rests  less  upon  his  qualities  in  the  field 
or  the  cabinet,  than  upon  the  unexampled  numerousness  of  his 
offspring.  Of  princes  he  had  so  many,  that  had  every  one  of  them 
been  destined  to  wear  a  crown,  he  might  have  stocked  with  them 
all  the  kingdoms  of  the  then  known  world.  Seventeen  years  ago, 
however,  this  copious  spring  had,  one  hot  summer,  finally  gone 
dry.  Princess  Melechsala  terminated  the  long  series  of  the  Sul- 
tanic  progeny ;  and,  in  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  Court,  she 
was  the  jewel  of  the  whole.  She  enjoyed  to  its  full  extent  the 
prerogative  of  youngest  children,  preference  to  all  the  rest ;  and 
this  distinction  was  enhanced  by  the  circumstance,  that  of  all  the 
Sultan's  daughters,  she  alone  had  remained  in  life ;  while  Nature 
nad  adorned  her  with  so  many  charms,  that  they  enchanted  even 
the  paternal  eye.  For  this  must  in  general  be  conceded  to  the 
Oriental  Princes,  that  in  the  scientific  criticism  of  female  beauty 
they  are  infinitely  more  advanced  than  our  Occidentals,  who  are 


MELECHSALA. 


119 


every  now  and  then  betraying  their  imperfect  culture  in  this  point.2 
Melechsala  was  the  pride  of  the  Sultan's  family ;  her  brothers 
themselves  were  unremitting  in  attentions  to  her,  and  in  efforts 
to  outdo  each  other  in  affectionate  regard.  The  grave  Divan  was 
frequently  employed  in  considering  what  Prince,  by  means  of  her, 
might  be  connected,  in  the  bonds  of  love,  with  the  interest  of  the 
Egyptian  state.  This  her  royal  father  made  his  smallest  care  ;  he 
was  solely  and  incessantly  concerned  to  grant  this  darling  of  his 
heart  her  every  wish,  to, keep  her  spirit  always  in  a  cheerful  mood, 
that  no  cloud  might  overcast  the  serene  horizon  of  her  brow. 

The  first  years  of  childhood  she  had  passed  under  the  super- 
intendence of  a  nurse,  who  was  a  Christian,  and  of  Italian  extrac- 
tion. This  slave  had  in  early  youth  been  kidnapped  from  the 
beach  of  her  native  town  by  a  Barbary  pirate  ;  sold  in  Alexandria ; 
and,  by  the  course  of  trade,  transmitted  from  one  hand  to  an- 
other, till  at  last  she  had  arrived  in  the  palace  of  the  Sultan, 
where  her  hale  constitution  recommended  her  to  this  office,  which 
she  filled  with  the  greatest  reputation.  Though  less  tuneful  than 
the  French  court-nurse,  who  used  to  give  the  signal  for  a  general 
chorus  over  all  Versailles,  whenever  she  uplifted,  with  melodious 
throat,  her  Marlborough  s'en  va-t-en  guerre;  yet  nature  had 
sufficiently  indemnified  her  by  a  glibness  of  tongue,  in  which  she 
was  unrivalled.  She  knew  as  many  tales  and  stories  as  the  fair 
Sheherazade  in  the  Thousand-and-one  Nights  ;  a  species  of  enter- 
tainment for  which  it  would  appear  the  race  of  Sultans,  in  the 
privacy  of  their  seraglios,  have  considerable  liking.  The  Prin- 
cess, at  least,  found  pleasure  in  it,  not  for  a  thousand  nights, 
but  for  a  thousand  weeks ;  and  when  once  a  maiden  has  attained 
the  age  of  a  thousand  weeks,  she  can  no  longer  be  contented  with 
the  histories  of  others,  for  she  sees  materials  in  herself  to  make 
a  history  of  her  own.  In  process  of  time,  the  gifted  waiting- 
woman  changed  her  nursery-tales  with  the  theory  of  European 
manners  and  customs ;  and  being  herself  a  warm  patriot,  and 
recollecting  her  native  country  with  delight,  she  painted  the  supe- 
riorities of  Italy  so  vividly,  that  the  fancy  of  her  tender  nursling 
became  filled  with  the  subject,  and  the  pleasant  impression  never 
afterwards  faded  from  her  memory.  The  more  this  fair  Princess 
grew  in  stature,  the  stronger  grew  in  her  the  love  for  foreign 
decoration ;  and  her  whole  demeanour  shaped  itself  according  to 
the  customs  of  Europe  rather  than  of  Egypt. 

2  Journal  of  Fashions,  June  1786, 


120 


MUSJEUS. 


From  youth  upwards  she  had  heen  a  great  lover  of  flowers  : 
part  of  her  occupation  had  consisted  in  forming,  according  to  the 
manner  of  the  Arabs,  a  constant  succession  of  significant  nose- 
gays and  garlands ;  with  which,  in  delicate  expressiveness,  she 
used  to  disclose  the  emotions  of  her  heart.  Nay,  she  at  last 
grew  so  inventive,  that,  by  combining  flowers  of  various  proper- 
ties, she  could  compose,  and  often  very  happily,  whole  sentences 
and  texts  of  the  Koran.  These  she  would  then  submit  to  her 
playmates  for  interpretation,  which  they  seldom  failed  to  hit. 
Thus  one  day,  for  example,  she  formed  with  Chalcedonic  Lychnis 
the  figure  of  a  heart ;  surrounded  it  with  white  Roses  and  Lilies  ; 
fastened  under  it  two  mounting  Kingsweeds,  enclosing  a  beauti- 
fully marked  Anemone  between  them  ;  and  her  women,  when  she- 
showed  them  the  wreath,  unanimously  read  :  Innocence  of  heart 
is  above  Birth  and  Beauty.  She  frequently  presented  her  slaves 
with  fresh  nosegays  :  and  these  flower- donations  commonly  in- 
cluded praise  or  blame  for  their  receivers.  A  garland  of  Peony- 
roses  censured  levity ;  the  swelling  Poppy,  dulness  and  vanity  ; 
a  bunch  of  odoriferous  Hyacinths,  with  drooping  bells,  was  a 
panegyric  for  modesty ;  the  gold  Lily,  which  shuts  her  leaves  at 
sunset,  for  prudence ;  the  Marine  Convolvulus  rebuked  eye-ser- 
vice ;  and  the  blossoms  of  the  Thorn-Apple,  with  the  Daisy  whose 
roots  are  poisonous,  indicated  slander  and  private  envy. 

Father  Othman  took  a  secret  pleasure  in  this  sprightly  play 
of  his  daughter's  fancy,  though  he  himself  had  no  talent  for  de- 
ciphering these  witty  hieroglyphics,  and  was  frequently  obliged 
to  look  with  the  spectacles  of  his  whole  Divan  before  he  could 
pierce  their  meaning.  The  exotic  taste  of  the  Princess  was  not 
hidden  from  him ;  and  though,  as  a  plain  Mussulman,  he  could 
not  sympathise  with  her  in  it,  he  endeavoured,  as  a  tender  and 
indulgent  parent,  rather  to  maintain  than  to  suppress  this  favourite 
tendency  of  his  daughter.  He  fell  upon  the  project  of  combining 
her  passion  for  flowers  with  her  preference  for  foreign  parts,  and 
laying  out  a  garden  for  her  in  the  taste  of  the  Franks.  This  idea 
appeared  to  him  so  happy,  that  he  lost  not  a  moment  in  impart- 
ing it  to  his  favourite,  Shiek  Kiamel,  and  pressing  him  with  the 
strictest  injunctions  to  realise  it  as  speedily  as  possible.  The 
Shiek,  well  knowing  that  his  master's  wishes  were  for  him  com- 
mands, which  he  must  obey  without  reply,  presumed  not  to  men- 
tion the  difficulties  which  he  saw  in  the  attempt.  He  himself 
understood  as  little  about  European  gardens  as  the  Sultan  ;  and 


MELECHSALA. 


121 


in  all  Cairo  there  was  no  mortal  known  to  him,  with  whom  he 
might  find  counsel  in  the  business.  Therefore  he  made  search 
among  the  Christian  slaves  for  a  man  skilful  in  gardening ;  and 
lighted  exactly  on  the  wrong  hand  for  extricating  him  from  his 
difficulty.  It  was  no  wonder,  then,  that  Shiek  Kiamel  shook  his 
head  contemplatively  as  he  inspected  the  procedure  of  this  horti- 
cultural improvement ;  for  he  was  apprehensive,  that  if  it  delighted 
the  Sultan  as  little  as  it  did  himself,  he  might  be  involved  in 
a  heavy  responsibility,  and  his  favouriteship,  at  the  very  least, 
might  take  wings  and  fly  away. 

At  Court,  this  project  had  hitherto  been  treated  as  a  secret, 
and  the  entrance  of  the  place  prohibited  to  every  one  in  the 
seraglio.  The  Sultan  purposed  to  surprise  his  daughter  with  this 
present  on  her  birthday ;  to  conduct  her  with  ceremony  into  the 
garden,  and  make  it  over  to  her  as  her  own.  This  day  was  now 
approaching ;  and  his  Highness  had  a  wish  to  take  a  view  of 
everything  beforehand,  to  get  acquainted  with  the  new  arrange- 
ments ;  that  he  might  give  himself  the  happiness  of  pointing  out 
in  person  to  his  daughter  the  peculiar  beauties  of  her  garden. 
He  communicated  this  to  the  Shiek,  whom  the  tidings  did  not 
much  exhilarate ;  and  who,  ^n  consequence,  composed  a  short 
defensive  oration,  which  he  fondly  hoped  might  extricate  his  head 
from  the  noose,  if  the  Sultan  showed  himself  dissatisfied  with  the 
appearance  of  his  Christian  garden. 

"  Commander  of  the  Faithful,"  he  purposed  to  say,  "  thy  nod 
is  the  director  of  my  path ;  my  feet  hasten  whither  thou  leadest 
them,  and  my  hand  holds  fast  what  thou  committest  to  it.  Thou 
wishedst  a  garden  after  the  manner  of  the  Franks  :  here  stands 
it  before  thy  eyes.  These  untutored  barbarians  have  no  gardens  ; 
but  meagre  wastes  of  sand,  which,  in  their  own  rude  climate, 
where  no  dates  or  lemons  ripen,  and  there  is  neither  Kalaf  nor 
Bahobab,3  they  plant  with  grass  and  weeds.  For  the  curse  of 
the  Prophet  has  smitten  with  perpetual  barrenness  the  plains  of 
the  Unbeliever,  and  forbidden  him  any  foretaste  of  Paradise  by 
the  perfume  of  the  Mecca  balm-tree,  or  the  enjoyment  of  spicy 
fruits." 

The  day  was  far  spent,  when  the  Sultan,  attended  only  by  the 
Shiek,  stept  into  the  garden,  in  high  expectation  of  the  wonders 

3  Kalaf,  a  shrub,  from  whose  blossoms  a  liquor  is  extracted,  resembling  our 
cherry-water,  and  much  used  in  domestic  medicine.  Bahobab,  a  sort  of  fruit,  in 
great  esteem  among  the  Egyptians. 


122 


MUSJEUS. 


he  was  to  behold.  A  wide  unobstructed  prospect  over  a  part  of 
the  city,  and  the  mirror  surface  of  the  Nile  with  its  Mushems, 
Shamdecks  and  Sheomeons*  sailing  to  and  fro  ;  in  the  background, 
the  skyward-pointing  pyramids,  and  a  chain  of  blue  vapoury  moun- 
tains, met  his  eye  from  the  upper  terrace,  no  longer  shrouded-in 
by  the  leafy  grove  of  palms.  A  refreshing  breath  of  air  was  also 
stirring  in  the  place,  and  fanning  him  agreeably.  Crowds  of  new 
objects  pressed  on  him  from  every  side.  The  garden  had  in  truth 
got  a  strange  foreign  aspect ;  and  the  old  park  which  had  been 
his  promenade  from  youth  upwards,  and  had  long  since  wearied 
him  by  its  everlasting  sameness,  was  no  longer  to  be  recognised. 
The  knowing  Kurt  had  judged  wisely,  that  the  charm  of  novelty 
would  have  its  influence.  The  Sultan  tried  this  horticultural 
metamorphosis  not  by  the  principles  of  a  critic,  but  by  its  first 
impression  on  the  senses ;  and  as  these  are  easily  decoyed  into 
contentment  by  the  bait  of  singularity,  the  whole  seemed  good 
and  right  to  him  there  as  he  found  it.  Even  the  crooked  un- 
symmetrical  walks,  overlaid  with  hard  stamped  gravel,  gave  his 
feet  an  elastic  force,  and  a  light  firm  tread,  accustomed  as  he  was 
to  move  on  nothing  else  but  Persian  carpets,  or  on  the  soft  green- 
sward. He  could  not  satisfy  himself  with  wandering  up  and  down 
the  labyrinthic  walks ;  and  he  showed  himself  especially  con- 
tented with  the  rich  variety  of  wild  flowers,  which  had  been  fos- 
tered and  cultivated  with  the  greatest  care,  though  they  were 
blossoming  of  their  own  accord,  outside  the  wall,  with  equal 
luxuriance  and  in  greater  multitude. 

At  last,  having  placed  himself  upon  a  seat,  he  turned  to  the 
Shiek  with  a  cheerful  countenance,  and  said  :  "  Kiamel,  thou  hast 
not  deceived  my  expectation  :  I  well  anticipated  that  thou  wouldst 
transform  me  this  old  park  into  something  singular,  and  diverse 
from  the  fashion  of  the  land ;  and  now  I  will  not  hide  my  satis- 
faction from  thee.  Melechsala  may  accept  thy  work  as  a  garden 
after  the  manner  of  the  Franks." 

The  Shiek,  when  he  heard  his  despot  talk  in  this  dialect, 
marvelled  much  that  all  things  took  so  well ;  and  blessed  himself 
that  he  had  held  his  tongue,  and  retained  his  defensive  oration  to 
himself.  Perceiving  that  the  Sultan  seemed  to  look  upon  the 
whole  as  his  invention,  he  directly  turned  the  rudder  of  his  talk 
to  the  favourable  breeze  which  was  rustling  his  sails,  and  spoke 
thus :  "  Puissant  Commander  ot  the  Faithful,  be  it  known  to 
*  Various  sorts  of  sailing  craft  in  use  there, 


MELECHSALA. 


123 


thee  that  thy  obedient  slave  took  thought  with  himself  day  and 
night  how  he  might  produce  out  of  this  old  date-grove,  at  thy  beck 
and  order,  something  unexampled,  the  like  of  which  had  nevei 
been  in  Egypt  before.  Doubtless  it  was  an  inspiration  of  the 
Prophet  that  suggested  the  idea  of  planning  it  according  to  the 
pattern  of  Paradise ;  for  I  trusted,  that  by  so  doing  I  should  not 
fail  to  meet  the  intention  of  thy  Highness." 

The  worthy  Sultan's  conception  of  the  Paradise,  which  to  all 
appearance  by  the  course  of  nature  he  must  soon  become  possessed 
of,  had  still  been  exceedingly  confused ;  or  rather,  like  the  fa- 
voured of  fortune,  who  take  their  ease  in  this  lower  world,  he  had 
never  troubled  himself  much  about  the  other.  But  whenever  any 
Dervish  or  Iman,  or  other  spiritual  person,  mentioned  Paradise, 
some  image  of  his  old  park  used  to  rise  on  his  fancy ;  and  the 
park  was  not  by  any  means  his  favourite  scene.  Now,  however, 
his  imagination  had  been  steered  on  quite  a  different  tack.  The 
new  picture  of  his  future  happiness  filled  his  soul  with  joy ;  at 
least  he  could  now  suppose  that  Paradise  might  not  be  so  dull  as 
he  had  hitherto  figured  it :  and  believing  that  he  now  possessed 
a  model  of  it  on  the  small  scale,  he  formed  a  high  opinion  of  the 
garden ;  and  expressed  this  forthwith,  by  directly  making  Shiek 
Kiamel  a  Bey,  and  presenting  him  with  a  splendid  caftan.  Your 
thorough-paced  courtier  belies  his  nature  in  no  quarter  of  the 
world  :  Kiamel,  without  the  slightest  hesitation,  modestly  appro- 
priated the  reward  of  a  service  which  his  functionary  had  per- 
formed ;  not  uttering  a  syllable  about  him  to  the  Sultan,  and 
thinking  him  rather  too  liberally  rewarded  by  a  few  aspers  which 
he  added  to  his  daily  pay. 

About  the  time  when  the  Sun  enters  the  Bam,  a  celestial 
phenomenon,  which  in  our  climates  is  the  watch-word  for  winter 
to  commence  his  operation ;  but  under  the  milder  sky  of  Egypt 
announces  the  finest  season  of  the  year,  the  Flower  of  the  World 
stept  forth  into  the  garden  which  had  been  prepared  for  her,  and 
found  it  altogether  to  her  foreign  taste.  She  herself  was,  in 
truth,  its  greatest  ornament :  any  scene  where  she  had  wandered, 
had  it  been  a  desert  in  Arabia  the  Stony,  or  a  Greenland  ice-field, 
would,  in  the  eyes  of  a  gallant  person,  have  been  changed  into 
Elysium  at  her  appearance.  The  wilderness  of  flowers,  which 
chance  had  mingled  in  interminable  rows,  gave  equal  occupation 
to  her  eye  and  her  spirit :  the  disorder  itself  she  assimilated,  by 
her  sprightly  allegories,  to  methodical  arrangement. 


124 


MUSJEUS. 


According  to  the  custom  of  the  country,  every  time  she  en« 
tered  the  garden,  all  specimens  of  the  male  sex,  planters,  diggers, 
water-carriers,  were  expelled  by  her  guard  of  Eunuchs.  The 
Grace  for  whom  our  artist  worked  was  thus  hidden  from  his  eyes, 
much  as  he  could  have  wished  for  once  to  behold  this  Flower  of 
the  World,  which  had  so  long  been  a  riddle  in  his  botany.  But 
as  the  Princess  used  to  overstep  the  fashions  of  the  East  in  many 
points,  so  by  degrees,  while  she  grew  to  like  the  garden  more 
and  more,  and  to  pay  it  several  visits  daily,  she  began  to  feel 
obstructed  and  annoyed  by  the  attendance  of  her  guard  sallying 
out  before  her  in  solemn  parade,  as  if  the  Sultan  had  been  riding 
to  Mosque  in  the  Bairam  festival.  She  frequently  appeared  alone, 
or  leaning  on  the  arm  of  some  favourite  waiting-woman;  always, 
however,  with  a  thin  veil  over  her  face,  and  a  little  rush  basket 
in  her  hand  :  she  wandered  up  and  down  the  walks,  plucking 
flowers,  which,  according  to  custom,  she  arranged  into  emblems 
of  her  thoughts,  and  distributed  among  her  people. 

One  morning,  before  the  hot  season  of  the  day,  while  the  dew- 
drops  were  still  reflecting  all  the  colours  of  the  rainbow  from  the 
grass,  she  visited  her  Tempe  to  enjoy  the  cool  morning  air,  just 
as  her  gardener  was  employed  in  lifting  from  the  ground  some 
faded  plants,  and  replacing  them  by  others  newly  blown,  which 
he  was  carefully  transporting  in  flower-pots,  and  then  cunningly 
inserting  in  the  soil  with  all  their  appurtenances,  as  if  by  a  magic 
vegetation  they  had  started  from  the  bosom  of  the  earth  in  a  sin- 
gle night.  The  Princess  noticed  with  pleasure  this  pretty  decep- 
tion of  the  senses,  and  having  now  found  out  the  secret  of  the 
flowers  which  she  plucked  away  being  daily  succeeded  by  fresh 
ones,  so  that  there  was  never  any  want,  she  thought  of  turning 
her  discovery  to  advantage,  and  instructing  the  gardener  how  and 
when  to  arrange  them,  and  make  them  blossom.  On  raising  his 
eyes,  the  Count  beheld  this  female  Angel,  whom  he  took  for  the 
possessor  of  the  garden,  for  she  was  encircled  with  celestial  charms 
as  with  a  halo.  He  was  so  surprised  by  this  appearance  that  he 
dropped  a  flower-pot  from  his  hands,  forgetful  of  the  precious 
colocassia  contained  in  it,  which  ended  its  tender  life  as  tragically 
as  the  Sieur  Pilastre  de  Rosier,  though  both  only  fell  into  the 
bosom  of  their  mother  Earth. 

The  Count  stood  petrified  like  a  statue  without  life  or  motion  ; 
one  might  have  broken  off  his  nose,  as  the  Turks  do  with  stone 
statues  in  temples  and  gardens,  and  never  have  aroused  him. 


MELECHSALA. 


125 


But  the  sweet  voice  of  the  Princess,  who  opened  her  purple  lips, 
recalled  him  to  his  senses.  "Christian,"  said  she,  "be  not 
afraid !  It  is  my  blame  that  thou  art  here  beside  me ;  go  for- 
ward with  thy  work,  and  order  thy  flowers  as  I  shall  bid  thee." 
— "  Glorious  Flower  of  the  World  !"  replied  the  gardener,  "  in 
whose  splendour  all  the  colours  of  this  blossomy  creation  wax  pale, 
thou  reignest  here  as  in  thy  firmament,  like  the  Star-queen  on  the 
battlements  of  Heaven.  Let  thy  nod  enliven  the  hand  of  the 
happiest  among  thy  slaves,  who  kisses  his  fetters,  so  thou  think 
him  worthy  to  perform  thy  commands."  The  Princess  had  not 
expected  that  a  slave  would  open  his  mouth  to  her,  still  less  pay 
her  compliments,  and  her  eyes  had  been  directed  rather  to  the 
flowers  than  the  planter.  She  now  deigned  to  cast  a  glance  on 
him,  and  was  astonished  to  behold  a  man  of  the  most  noble  form, 
surpassing  in  masculine  grace  all  that  she  had  ever  seen  or 
dreamed  of. 

Count  Ernst  of  Gleichen  had  been  celebrated  for  his  manly 
beauty  over  all  Germany.  At  the  tournament  of  Wiirzburg,  he 
had  been  the  hero  of  the  dames.  When  he  raised  his  visor  to 
take  air,  the  running  of  the  boldest  spearman  was  lost  for  every 
female  eye  ;  all  looked  on  him  alone ;  and  when  he  closed  his 
helmet  to  begin  a  course,  the  chastest  bosom  heaved  higher,  and 
all  hearts  beat  anxious  sympathy  with  the  lordly  Knight.  The 
partial  hand  of  the  Duke  of  Bavaria's  love-sick  niece  had  crowned 
him  with  a  guerdon,  which  the  young  man  blushed  to  receive. 
His  seven  years'  durance  in  the  Grated  Tower,  had  indeed  paled 
his  blooming  cheeks,  relaxed  his  firm-set  limbs,  and  dulled  the 
fire  of  his  eyes ;  but  the  enjoyment  of  the  free  atmosphere,  and 
Labour,  the  playmate  of  Health,  had  now  made  good  the  loss, 
with  interest.  He  was  flourishing  like  a  laurel,  which  has  pined 
throughout  the  long  winter  in  the  greenhouse,  and  at  the  return 
of  spring  sends  forth  new  leaves,  and  gets  a  fair  verdant  crown. 

With  her  predilection  for  all  foreign  things,  the  Princess  could 
not  help  contemplating  with  satisfaction  the  attractive  figure  of 
the  stranger ;  and  it  never  struck  her  that  the  sight  of  an  Endy- 
mion  may  have  quite  another  influence  on  a  maiden's  heart,  than 
the  creation  of  a  milliner,  set  up  for  show  in  her  booth.  With  kind 
gentle  voice,  she  gave  her  handsome  gardener  orders  how  to  man- 
age the  arrangement  of  his  flowers ;  often  asked  his  own  advice 
respecting  it,  and  talked  with  him  so  long  as  any  horticultural 
idea  was  in  her  head.    She  left  him  at  length,  but  scarcely  was 


126 


MUS^KTJS. 


she  gone  five  paces  when  she  turned  to  give  him  fresh  commis- 
sions ;  and  as  she  took  a  promenade  along  the  serpentine-walk, 
she  called  him  again  to  her,  and  put  new  questions  to  him,  and 
proposed  new  improvements  before  she  went  away.  As  the  day 
began  to  cool,  she  again  felt  the  want  of  fresh  air,  and  scarcely 
had  the  sun  returned  to  gild  the  waxing  Nile,  when  a  wish  to  see 
the  awakening  flowers  unfold  their  blossoms,  brought  her  back 
into  the  garden.  Day  after  day  her  love  of  fresh  air  and  awaken- 
ing flowers  increased ;  and  in  these  visits  she  never  failed  to  go 
directly  to  the  place  where  her  florist  was  labouring,  and  give  him 
new  orders,  which  he  strove  punctually  and  speedily  to  execute. 

One  day  the  Bostangi,5  when  she  came  to  see  him,  was  not 
to  be  found ;  she  wandered  up  and  down  the  intertwisted  walks, 
regardless  of  the  flowers  that  were  blooming  around  her,  and,  by 
the  high  tints  of  their  colours  and  the  balmy  air  of  their  perfumes, 
as  if  striving  with  each  other  to  attract  her  attention ;  she  ex- 
pected him  behind  every  bush,  searched  every  branching  plant 
that  might  conceal  him,  fancied  she  should  find  him  in  the  grotto, 
and,  on  his  failing  to  appear,  made  a  pilgrimage  to  all  the  groves 
in  the  garden,  hoping  to  surprise  him  somewhere  asleep,  and  en- 
joying the  embarrassment  which  he  would  feel  when  she  awoke 
him ;  but  the  head-gardener  nowhere  met  her  eye.  By  chance 
she  came  upon  the  stoical  Yiet,  the  Count's  Groom,  a  dull  piece 
of  mechanism,  whom  his  master  had  been  able  to  make  nothing 
out  of  but  a  drawer  of  water.  On  perceiving  her,  he  wheeled 
with  his  water-cans  to  the  left-about,  that  he  might  not  meet  her, 
but  she  called  him  to  her,  and  asked,  Where  the  Bostangi  was  ? 
"  Where  else,"  said  he,  in  his  sturdy  way,  "but  in  the  hands  of 
the  Jewish  quack- salver,  who  will  sweat  the  soul  from  his  body  in 
a  trice  ?"  These  tidings  cut  the  lovely  Princess  to  the  heart,  for 
she  had  never  dreamed  that  it  was  sickness  which  prevented  her 
Bostangi  from  appearing  at  his  post.  She  immediately  returned 
to  her  palace,  where  her  women  saw,  with  consternation,  that  the 
serene  brow  of  their  mistress  was  overcast,  as  when  the  moist 
breath  of  the  south  wind  has  dimmed  the  mirror  of  the  sky,  and 
the  hovering  vapours  have  collected  into  clouds.  In  retiring  to 
the  Seraglio,  she  had  plucked  a  variety  of  flowers,  but  all  were  of 
a  mournful  character,  and  bound  with  cypress  and  rosemary,  in- 
dicating clearly  enough  the  sadness  of  her  mood.  She  did  the 
same  for  several  days,  which  brought  her  council  of  women  into 
•  Head-gardener. 


MELECHSALA. 


127 


much  perplexity,  and  many  deep  debates  about  the  cause  of  their 
fair  Melechsala's  grief;  but  withal,  as  in  female  consultations  too 
often  happens,  they  arrived  at  no  conclusion,  as  in  calling  for  the 
vote  there  was  such  a  dissonance  of  opinions,  that  no  harmonious 
note  could  be  discovered  in  them.  The  truth  was,  Count  Ernst's 
too  zealous  efforts  to  anticipate  every  nod  of  the  Princess,  and 
realise  whatever  she  expressed  the  faintest  hint  of,  had  so  acted 
on  a  frame  unused  to  labour,  that  his  health  suffered  under  it, 
and  he  was  seized  with  a  fever.  Yet  the  Jewish  pupil  of  Galen, 
or  rather  the  Count's  fine  constitution,  mastered  the  disease,  and 
in  a  few  days  he  was  able  to  resume  his  tasks.  The  instant  the 
Princess  noticed  him,  the  clouds  fled  away  from  her  brow ;  and 
her  female  senate,  to  whom  her  melancholy  humour  had  remained 
an  inexplicable  riddle,  now  unanimously  voted  that  some  flower- 
plant,  of  whose  progress  she  had  been  in  doubt,  had  now  taken 
root  and  begun  to  thrive, — a  conclusion  not  inaccurate,  if  taken 
allegorically. 

Princess  Melechsala  was  still  as  innocent  in  heart  as  she  had 
come  from  the  hands  of  Nature.  She  had  never  got  the  smallest 
warning  or  foreboding  of  the  rogueries,  which  Amor  is  wont  to 
play  on  inexperienced  beauties.  Hitherto,  on  the  whole,  there 
has  been  a  want  of  Hints  for  Princesses  and  Maidens  in  regard 
to  love ;  though  a  satisfactory  theory  of  that  kind  might  do  infi- 
nitely greater  service  to  the  world  than  any  Hints  for  the  Instruc- 
tors of  Princes  ;6  a  class  of  persons  who  regard  no  hint,  however 
broad,  nay  sometimes  take  it  ill ;  whereas  maidens  never  fail  to 
notice  every  hint,  and  pay  heed  to  it,  their  perception  being  finer, 
and  a  secret  hint  precisely  their  affair.  The  Princess  was  still 
in  the  first  novitiate  of  love,  and  had  not  the  slightest  knowledge 
of  its  mysteries.  She  therefore  yielded  wholly  to  her  feelings, 
without  scrupling  in  the  least,  or  ever  calling  a  Divan  of  the 
three  confidantes  of  her  heart,  Reason,  Prudence  and  Reflection, 
to  deliberate  on  the  business.  Had  she  done  so,  doubtless  the 
concern  she  felt  in  the  circumstances  of  the  Rostangi  would  have 
indicated  to  her  that  the  germ  of  an  unknown  passion  was  already 
vegetating  strongly  in  her  heart,  and  Reason  and  Reflection  would 
have  whispered  to  her  that  this  passion  was  love.  Whether  in 
the  Count's  heart  there  was  any  similar  process  going  on  in  secret, 
we  have  no  diplomatic  evidence  before  us  :  his  over- anxious  zeal 

6  Allusion  to  a  small  Treatise,  which,  about  the  time  Musseus  wrote  his  story, 
had  appeared  under  that  title. — Wikland. 


128 


MUS^EUS. 


to  execute  the  commands  of  his  mistress  might  excite  some  such 
conjecture ;  and  if  so,  a  bunch  of  Lovage  with  a  withered  stalk 
of  Honesty,  tied  up  together,  might  have  befitted  him  as  an 
allegorical  nosegay.  Perhaps,  however,  it  was  nothing  but  an 
innocent  chivalrous  feeling  which  occasioned  this  distinguished 
alacrity;  for  in  those  times  it  was  the  most  inviolable  law  of 
Knighthood,  that  its  professors  should  in  all  things  rigorously 
conform  to  the  injunctions  of  the  fair. 

No  day  now  passed  without  the  good  Melechsala's  holding 
trustful  conversation  with  her  Bostangi.  The  soft  tone  of  her 
voice  delighted  his  ear,  and  every  one  of  her  expressions  seemed 
to  say  something  flattering  to  him.  Had  he  been  endowed  with 
the  self-confidence  of  a  court  lord,  he  would  have  turned  so  fair 
a  situation  to  profit  for  making  farther  advances  :  but  he  con- 
stantly restrained  himself  within  the  bounds  of  modesty.  And 
as  the  Princess  was  entirely  inexperienced  in  the  science  of  co- 
quetry, and  knew  not  how  to  set  about  encouraging  the  timid 
shepherd  to  the  stealing  of  her  heart,  the  whole  intrigue  revolved 
upon  the  axis  of  mutual  good-will ;  and  might  undoubtedly  have 
long  continued  so  revolving,  had  not  Chance,  which  we  all  know 
commonly  officiates  as  primum  mobile  in  every  change  of  things, 
ere  long  given  the  scene  another  form. 

About  sunset,  one  very  beautiful  day,  the  Princess  visited  the 
garden ;  her  soul  was  as  bright  as  the  horizon ;  she  talked  de- 
lightfully with  her  Bostangi  about  many  indifferent  matters,  for 
the  mere  purpose  of  speaking  to  him  ;  and  after  he  had  filled  her 
flower-basket,  she  seated  herself  in  a  grove,  and  bound  up  a  nose- 
gay, with  which  she  presented  him.  The  Count,  as  a  mark  of 
reverence  to  his  fair  mistress,  fastened  it,  with  a  look  of  surprise 
and  delight,  to  the  breast  of  his  waistcoat,  without  ever  dream- 
ing that  the  flowers  might  have  a  secret  import ;  for  these  hiero- 
glyphics were  hidden  from  his  eyes,  as  from  the  eyes  of  a  dis- 
cerning public  the  secret  wheel -work  of  the  famous  Wooden 
Chess-player.  And  as  the  Princess  did  not  afterwards  expound 
that  secret  import,  it  has  withered  away  with  the  blossoms,  and 
been  lost  to  the  knowledge  of  posterity.  Meanwhile  she  herself 
supposed  that  the  language  of  flowers  must  be  as  plain  to  all 
mortals  as  their  mother-tongue ;  she  never  doubted,  therefore, 
but  her  favourite  had  understood  the  whole  quite  right ;  and  as 
he  looked  at  her  with  such  an  air  of  reverence  when  he  took 
the  nosegay,  she  accepted  his  gestures  as  expressions  of  modest 


1 


MELECHSALA.  129 

thanks  for  the  praise  of  his  activity  and  zeal,  which,  in  all  pro- 
bability, the  flowers  had  been  meant  to  convey.  She  now  took 
a  thought  of  putting  his  inventiveness  to  proof  in  her  turn,  and 
trying  whether  in  this  flowery  dialect  of  thanks  he  could  pay  a 
pretty  compliment ;  or,  in  a  word,  translate  the  present  aspect 
of  his  countenance,  which  betrayed  the  feelings  of  his  heart,  into 
flower- writing ;  and  accordingly,  she  asked  him  for  a  nosegay  of 
his  composition.  The  Count,  affected  by  such  a  proof  of  conde- 
scending goodness,  darted  to  the  end  of  the  garden,  into  a  remote 
greenhouse,  where  he  had  established  his  flower-depot,  and  out 
of  which  he  was  in  the  habit  of  transferring  his  plants  to  the  soil 
as  they  came  into  blossom,  without  stirring  them  from  their  pots. 
There  chanced  to  be  an  aromatic  plant  just  then  in  bloom,  a 
flower  named  Miishirumi7  by  the  Arabs,  and  which  hitherto  had 
not  appeared  in  the  garden.  With  this  novelty  Count  Ernst  im- 
agined he  might  give  a  little  harmless  pleasure  to  his  fair  florist ; 
and  accordingly,  for  want  of  a  salver,  having  put  a  broad  fig-leaf 
under  it,  he  held  it  to  her  on  his  knees,  with  a  look  expressive 
of  humility,  yet  claiming  a  little  merit ;  for  he  thought  to  earn 
a  word  of  praise  by  it.  But,  with  the  utmost  consternation,  he 
perceived  that  the  Princess  turned  away  her  face,  and,  so  far  as 
he  could  notice  through  the  veil,  cast  down  her  eyes  as  if  ashamed, 
and  looked  on  the  ground,  without  uttering  a  word.  She  hesi- 
tated, and  seemed  embarrassed  in  accepting  it ;  not  deigning  to 
cast  a  look  on  it,  but  laying  it  beside  her  on  the  seat.  Her 
gay  humour  had  departed;  she  assumed  a  majestic  attitude, 
announcing  haughty  earnestness ;  and  after  a  few  moments  left 
the  grove,  without  taking  any  farther  notice  of  her  favourite,  not, 
however,  leaving  her  Mushirumi  behind  her,  but  carefully  con- 
cealing it  under  her  veil. 

The  Count  was  thunderstruck  at  this  enigmatical  catastrophe ; 
he  could  not  for  his  life  understand  the  meaning  of  this  strange 
behaviour,  and  continued  sitting  on  his  knees,  in  the  position  of 
a  man  doing  penance,  for  some  time  after  his  Princess  had  left 
the  place.  It  grieved  him  to  the  heart  that  he  should  have  dis- 
pleased and  alienated  this  divinity,  whom,  for  her  condescending 
kindness,  he  venerated  as  a  Saint  of  Heaven.  When  his  first  con- 
sternation had  subsided,  he  slunk  home  to  his  dwelling,  timid  and 
rueful,  like  a  man  conscious  of  some  heavy  crime.  The  mettled 
Kurt  had  supper  on  the  table  ;  but  his  master  would  not  biteP 
7  Hyacinthus  Ma^ari. 

VOL.  III.  K 


130 


MUSiEUS, 


and  kept  forking  about  in  the  plate,  without  carrying  a  morsel  tn 
his  lips.  By  this  the  trusty  Dapifer  perceived  that  all  was  not 
right  with  the  Count ;  wherefore  he  vanished  speedily  from  the 
room,  and  uncorked  a  flask  of  Chian  wine  ;  which  Grecian  care- 
dispeller  did  not  fail  in  its  effect.  The  Count  became  communi- 
cative, and  disclosed  to  his  faithful  Squire  the  adventure  in  the 
garden.  Their  speculations  on  it  were  protracted  to  a  late  hour, 
without  affording  any  tenable  hypothesis  for  the  displeasure  of 
the  Princess  ;  and  as  with  all  their  pondering  nothing  could  be 
discovered,  master  and  servant  betook  them  to  repose.  The  lat- 
ter found  it  without  difficulty ;  the  former  sought  it  in  vain,  and 
watched  throughout  the  painful  night,  till  the  dawn  recalled  him 
to  his  employments. 

At  the  hour  when  Melechsala  used  to  visit  him,  the  Count  kept 
an  eager  eye  on  the  entrance,  but  the  door  of  the  Seraglio  did  not 
open.  He  waited  the  second  day;  then  the  third:  the  door  of  the 
Seraglio  was  as  if  walled  up  within.  Had  not  the  Count  of 
Gleichen  been  a  sheer  idiot  in  flower-language,  he  would  readily 
have  found  the  key  to  this  surprising  behaviour  of  the  Princess.  By 
presenting  the  flower  to  her,  he  had,  in  fact,  without  knowing  a 
syllable  of  the  matter,  made  a  formal  declaration  of  love,  and  that 
in  no  Platonic  sense.  For  when  an  Arab  lover,  by  some  trusty 
hand,  privily  transmits  a  Mushirumi  flower  to  his  mistress,  he 
gives  her  credit  for  penetration  enough  to  discover  the  only  rhyme 
which  exists  in  the  Arabian  language  for  the  word.  This  rhyme 
is  Ydskerumi,  which,  delicately  rendered,  means  reward  of  love.8 
To  this  invention  it  must  be  conceded,  that  there  cannot  be  a 
more  compendious  method  of  proceeding  in  the  business  than  this 
of  the  Mushirumi,  which  might  well  deserve  the  imitation  of  our 
Western  lovers.  The  whole  insipid  scribbling  of  Billets-doux,  which 
often  cost  their  authors  so  much  toil  and  brain-beating,  often 
when  they  come  into  the  wrong  hand  are  pitilessly  mangled  by 
hard-hearted  jesters,  often  by  the  fair  receivers  themselves  mis- 
treated or  falsely  interpreted,  might  by  this  means  be  dispensed 
with.  It  need  not  be  objected  that  the  Mushirumi,  or  Muscadine- 
hyacinth,  flowers  but  rarely  and  for  a  short  time  in  our  climates  ; 
because  an  imitation  of  it  might  be  made  by  our  Parisian  or  native 
gumflower-makers,  to  supply  the  wants  of  lovers  at  all  seasons  of 
the  year ;  and  an  inland  trade  in  this  domestic  manufacture  might 
easily  afford  better  profit  than  our  present  speculations  with  Ame- 
8  Hasselquist's  Travels  in  Palestine. 


MELECHSALA. 


131 


rica.  Nor  would  a  Chevalier  in  Europe  have  to  dread  that  the 
presenting  of  so  eloquent  a  flower  might  be  charged  upon  him  as 
a  capital  offence,  for  which  his  life  might  have  to  answer,  as  in 
the  East  could  very  simply  happen.  Had  not  Princess  Melechsala 
been  so  kind  and  soft  a  soul,  or  had  not  omnipotent  Love  sub- 
dued the  pride  of  the  Sultan's  daughter,  the  Count,  for  this  flower- 
gallantry,  innocently  as  on  his  part  it  was  intended,  must  have 
paid  with  his  head.  But  the  Princess  was  in  the  main  so  little 
indignant  at  receiving  this  expressive  flower,  that  on  the  contrary 
the  fancied  proffer  struck  a  chord  in  her  heart,  which  had  long 
been  vibrating  before,  and  drew  from  it  a  melodious  tone.  Yet  her 
virgin  modesty  was  hard  put  to  proof,  when  her  favourite,  as  she 
supposed,  presumed  to  entreat  of  her  the  reward  of  love.  It  was 
on  this  account  that  she  had  turned  away  her  face  at  his  proposal. 
A  purple  blush,  which  the  veil  had  hidden  from  the  Count,  over- 
spread her  tender  cheeks,  her  snow-white  bosom  heaved,  and  her 
heart  beat  higher  beneath  it.  Bashfulness  and  tenderness  were 
fighting  a  fierce  battle  within  it,  and  her  embarrassment  was  such 
that  she  could  not  utter  a  word.  For  a  time  she  had  been  in 
doubt  what  to  do  with  the  perplexing  Mushirumi ;  to  disdain  it, 
was  to  rob  her  lover  of  all  hope  ;  to  accept  it,  was  the  promise  that 
his  wishes  should  be  granted.  The  balance  of  resolution  wavered, 
now  to  this  side,  now  to  that,  till  at  length  love  decided;  she  took 
the  flower  with  her,  and  this  at  least  secured  the  Count's  head, 
in  the  first  place.  But  in  her  solitary  chamber,  there  doubtless 
ensued  much  deep  deliberation  about  the  consequences  which  this 
step  might  produce  ;  and  the  situation  of  the  Princess  was  the 
more  difficult,  that  in  her  ignorance  of  the  concerns  of  the  heart, 
she  knew  not  how  to  act  of  herself ;  and  durst  not  risk  disclosing 
the  affair  to  any  other,  if  she  would  not  leave  the  life  of  her  be- 
loved and  her  own  fate  at  the  caprice  of  a  third  party. 

It  is  easier  to  watch  a  goddess  at  the  bath  than  to  penetrate 
the  secrets  of  an  Oriental  Princess  in  the  bedchamber  of  the 
Seraglio.  It  is  therefore  difficult  for  the  historian  to  determine 
whether  Melechsala  left  the  Mushirumi  which  she  had  accepted 
of  to  wither  on  her  dressing-table ;  or  put  it  in  fresh  water,  to 
preserve  it  for  the  solace  of  her  eyes  as  long  as  possible.  In  like 
manner,  it  is  difficult  to  discover  whether  this  fair  Princess  spent 
the  night  asleep,  with  gay  dreams  dancing  round  her,  or  awake,  a 
victim  to  the  wasting  cares  of  love.  The  latter  is  more  probable, 
since  early  in  the  morning  there  arose  great  dole  and  lamentation 


132 


MUSJBUS. 


in  the  Palace,  as  the  Princess  made  her  appearance  with  pale 
cheeks  and  languid  eyes ;  so  that  her  female  council  dreaded  the 
approach  of  grievous  sickness.  The  Court  Physician  was  called 
in ;  the  same  bearded  Hebrew  who  had  floated  off  the  Count's 
fever  in  his  sweat-bath ;  he  was  now  to  examine  the  pulse  of  a 
more  delicate  patient.  According  to  the  custom  of  the  country, 
she  was  lying  on  a  sofa,  with  a  large  screen  in  front  of  it,  pro- 
vided with  a  little  opening,  through  which  she  stretched  her  beau- 
tifully turned  arm,  twice  and  three  times  wrapt  with  fine  muslin, 
to  protect  it  from  the  profane  glance  of  a  masculine  eye.  "  God 
help  me!"  whispered  the  Doctor  into  the  chief  waiting-woman's 
ear  :  "  Things  have  a  bad  look  with  her  Highness  ;  the  pulse  is 
quivering  like  a  mouse-tail."  At  the  same  time,  with  practical 
policy,  he  shook  his  head  dubitatingly,  as  cunning  doctors  are 
wont ;  ordered  abundance  of  Kalaf  and  other  cordials,  and  with  a 
shrug  of  the  shoulders  predicted  a  dangerous  fever. 

Nevertheless,  these  alarming  symptoms,  which  the  medical 
gentleman  considered  as  so  many  heralds  announcing  the  ap- 
proach of  a  malignant  distemper,  appeared  to  be  nothing  more 
than  the  consequences  of  a  bad  night' s-rest ;  for  the  patient  hav- 
ing taken  her  siesta  about  noon,  found  herself,  to  the  Israelite's 
astonishment,  out  of  danger  in  the  evening ;  needed  no  more 
drugs,  and  by  the  orders  of  her  iEsculapius  was  required  merely 
to  keep  quiet  for  a  day  or  two.  This  space  she  employed  in 
maturely  deliberating  her  intrigue,  and  devising  ways  and  means 
for  fulfilling  the  demands  of  the  Mushirumi.  She  was  diligently 
occupied,  inventing,  proving,  choosing  and  rejecting.  One  hour 
fancy  smoothed  away  the  most  impassable  mountains ;  and  the 
next,  she  saw  nothing  but  clefts  and  abysses,  from  the  brink  of 
which  she  shuddered  back,  and  over  which  the  boldest  imagina- 
tion could  not  build  a  bridge.  Yet  on  all  these  rocks  of  offence 
she  grounded  the  firm  resolution  to  obey  the  feelings  of  her  heart, 
come  what  come  might ;  a  piece  of  heroism,  not  unusual  with 
Mother  Eve's  daughters ;  which  in  the  mean  time  they  often  pay 
for  with  the  happiness  and  contentment  of  their  lives. 

The  bolted  gate  of  the  Seraglio  at  last  went  up,  and  the  fair 
Melechsala  again  passed  through  it  into  the  garden,  like  the  gay 
Sun  through  the  portals  of  the  East.  The  Count  observed  her 
entrance  from  behind  a  grove  of  ivy  ;  and  there  began  a  knocking 
in  his  heart  as  in  a  mill ;  a  thumping  and  hammering  as  if  he 
had  just  run  a  race.    Was  it  joy,  was  it  fear,  or  anxious  expect- 


MELECHSALA. 


133 


ing  of  what  this  visit  would  announce  to  him  —  forgiveness  or 
disfavour  ?  Who  can  unfold  so  accurately  the  heart  of  man,  as 
to  trace  the  origin  and  cause  of  every  start  and  throb  in  this 
irritable  muscle  ?  In  short,  Count  Ernst  did  feel  considerable 
palpitations  of  the  heart,  so  soon  as  he  descried  the  Princess 
from  afar ;  but  of  their  Whence  or  Why,  he  could  give  his  own 
mind  no  account.  She  very  soon  dismissed  her  suite  ;  and  from 
all  the  circumstances  it  was  clear  that  poetical  anthology  was  not 
her  business  in  the  present  case.  She  bent  her  course  to  the 
grove;  and  as  the  Count  was  not  playing  hide-and-seek  with 
much  adroitness  or  zeal,  she  found  him  with  great  ease.  While 
she  was  still  at  some  distance,  he  fell  upon  his  knees  with  mute 
eloquence  before  her,  not  venturing  to  raise  his  eyes,  and  looked 
as  ruefully  as  a  delinquent  when  the  judge  is  ready  to  pass  sent- 
ence on  him.  The  Princess,  however,  with  a  soft  voice  and 
friendly  gesture,  said  to  him:  "Bostangi,  rise  and  follow  me 
into  this  grove."  Bostangi  obeyed  in  silence;  and  she  having 
taken  her  seat,  spoke  thus  :  "  The  will  of  the  Prophet  be  done  ! 
I  have  called  on  him  three  days  and  three  nights  long,  to  direct 
me  by  a  sign  if  my  conduct  were  wavering  between  error  and 
folly.  He  is  silent ;  and  approves  the  purpose  of  the  Kingdove 
to  free  the  captive  Linnet  from  the  chain  with  which  he  toil- 
somely draws  water,  and  to  nestle  by  his  side.  The  Daughter  of 
the  Sultan  has  not  disdained  the  Mushirumi  from  thy  fettered 
hand.  My  lot  is  cast !  Loiter  not  in  seeking  the  Iman,  that 
he  lead  thee  to  the  Mosque,  and  confer  on  thee  the  Seal  of  the 
Faithful.  Then  will  my  Father,  at  my  request,  cause  thee  to 
grow  as  the  Nile-stream,  when  it  oversteps  its  narrow  banks,  and 
pours  itself  into  the  valley.  And  when  thou  art  governing  a 
Province  as  its  Bey,  thou  mayest  confidently  raise  thy  eyes  to 
the  throne  :  the  Sultan  will  not  reject  the  son-in-law  whom  the 
Prophet  has  appointed  for  his  daughter." 

Like  the  conjuration  of  some  potent  Fairy,  this  address  again 
transformed  the  Count  into  the  image  of  a  stone  statue  ;  he  gazed 
at  the  Princess  without  life  or  motion  ;  his  cheeks  grew  pale,  and 
his  tongue  was  chained.  On  the  whole,  he  had  caught  the  mean- 
ing of  the  speech  :  but  how  he  was  to  reach  the  unexpected 
honour  of  becoming  the  Sultan  of  Egypt's  son-in-law  was  an 
unfathomable  mystery.  In  this  predicament,  he  certainly,  for  an 
accepted  wooer,  did  not  make  the  most  imposing  figure  in  the 
world ;  but  awakening  love,  like  the  rising  sun,  coats  everything 


134 


MUS^US. 


with  gold.  The  Princess  took  his  dumb  astonishment  for  excess 
of  rapture,  and  attributed  his  visible  perplexity  of  spirit  to  the 
overwhelming  feeling  of  his  unexpected  success.  Yet  in  her  heart 
there  arose  some  virgin  scruples  lest  she  might  have  gone  too  fast 
to  work  with  the  ultimatum  of  the  courtship,  and  outrun  the  ex- 
pectations of  her  lover ;  therefore  she  again  addressed  him,  and 
said:  "Thou  art  silent,  Bostangi?  Let  it  not  surprise  thee 
that  the  perfume  of  thy  Mushirumi  breathes  back  on  thee  the 
odour  of  my  feelings  ;  in  the  curtain  of  deceit  my  heart  has  never 
been  shrouded.  Ought  I  by  wavering  hope  to  increase  the  toil 
of  the  steep  path,  which  thy  foot  must  climb  before  the  bridal 
chamber  can  be  opened  to  thee  ?" 

During  this  speech  the  Count  had  found  time  to  recover  his 
senses ;  he  roused  himself,  like  a  warrior  from  sleep  when  the 
alarm  is  sounded  in  the  camp.  "Resplendent  Flower  of  the 
East,"  said  he,  "how  shall  the  tiny  herb  that  grows  among  the 
thorns  presume  to  blossom  under  thy  shadow  ?  Would  not  the 
watchful  hand  of  the  gardener  pluck  it  out  as  an  unseemly  weed, 
and  cast  it  forth,  to  be  trodden  under  foot  on  the  highway,  or 
withered  in  the  scorching  sun  ?  If  a  breath  of  air  stir  up  the 
dust,  that  it  soil  thy  royal  diadem,  are  not  a  hundred  hands  in 
instant  employment  wiping  it  away  ?  How  should  a  slave  desire 
the  precious  fruit,  which  ripens  in  the  garden  of  the  Sultan  for 
the  palate  of  Princes  ?  At  thy  command  I  sought  a  pleasant 
flower  for  thee,  and  found  the  Mushirumi,  the  name  of  which 
was  as  unknown  to  me,  as  its  secret  import  still  is.  Think  not 
that  I  meant  aught  with  it  but  to  obey  thee." 

This  response  distorted  the  fair  plan  of  the  Princess  very 
considerably.  She  had  not  expected  that  it  could  be  possible  for 
a  European  not  to  combine  with  the  Mushirumi,  when  presented 
to  a  lady,  the  same  thought  which  the  two  other  quarters  of  the 
world  unite  with  it.  The  error  was  now  clear  as  day ;  but  love, 
which  had  once  for  all  taken  root  in  her  heart,  now  dextrously 
winded  and  turned  the  matter ;  as  a  seamstress  does  a  piece  of 
work  which  she  has  cut  wrong,  till  at  last  she  makes  ends  meet 
notwithstanding.  The  Princess  concealed  her  embarrassment  by 
the  playing  of  her  fair  hands  with  the  hem  of  her  veil ;  and,  after 
a  few  moments'  silence,  she  said,  with  gentle  gracefulness:  "Thy 
modesty  resembles  the  night-violet,  which  covets  not  the  glitter 
of  the  sun,  yet  is  loved  for  its  aromatic  odour.  A  happy  chance 
has  been  the  interpreter  of  thy  heart,  and  elicited  the  feelings  of 


MELECHSALA. 


135 


mine.  They  are  no  longer  hid  from  thee.  Follow  the  doctrine 
of  the  Prophet,  and  thou  art  on  the  way  to  gain  thy  wish." 

The  Count  now  began  to  perceive  the  connection  of  the  matter 
more  and  more  distinctly ;  the  darkness  vanished  from  his  mind 
by  degrees,  as  the  shades  of  night  before  the  dawn.  Here,  then, 
the  Tempter,  whom,  in  the  durance  of  the  Grated  Tower,  he  had 
expected  under  the  mask  of  a  horned  satyr,  or  a  black  shrivelled 
gnome,  appeared  to  him  in  the  figure  of  winged  Cupid,  and  was 
employing  all  his  treacherous  arts,  persuading  him  to  deny  his 
faith,  to  forsake  his  tender  spouse,  and  forget  the  pledges  of  her 
chaste  love.  "  It  stands  in  thy  power,"  said  he,  "  to  change  thy 
iron  fetters  with  the  kind  ties  of  love.  The  first  beauty  in  the 
world  is  smiling  on  thee,  and  with  her  the  enjoyment  of  all  earthly 
happiness  !  A  flame,  pure  as  the  fire  of  Vesta,  burns  for  thee  in 
her  bosom,  and  would  waste  her  life,  should  folly  and  caprice 
overcloud  thy  soul  to  the  refusing  her  favour.  Conceal  thy  faith 
a  little  while  under  the  turban  ;  Father  Gregory  has  water  enough 
in  his  absolution  -  cistern  to  wash  thee  clean  from  such  a  sin. 
Who  knows  but  thou  mayest  earn  the  merit  of  saving  the  pure 
maiden's  soul,  and  leading  it  to  the  Heaven  for  which  it  was 
intended?"  To  this  deceitful  oration  the  Count  would  willingly 
have  listened  longer,  had  not  his  good  Angel  twitched  him  by 
the  ear,  and  warned  him  to  give  no  farther  heed  to  the  voice  of 
temptation.  So  he  thought  that  he  must  not  speak  with  flesh 
and  blood  any  longer,  but  by  one  bold  effort  gain  the  victory  over 
himself.  The  word  died  away  more  than  once  in  his  mouth;  but 
at  last  he  took  heart,  and  said  :  ' 1  The  longing  of  the  wanderer, 
astray  in  the  Libyan  wilderness,  to  cool  his  parched  lips  in  the 
fountains  of  the  Nile,  but  aggravates  the  torments  of  his  thirsty 
heart,  when  he  must  still  languish  in  the  torrid  waste.  Therefore 
think  not,  0  best  and  gentlest  of  thy  sex,  that  such  a  wish  has 
awakened  within  me,  which,  like  a  gnawing  worm,  would  consume 
my  heart,  since  I  could  not  nourish  it  with  hope.  Know  that,  in 
my  home,  I  am  already  joined  by  the  indissoluble  tie  of  marriage 
to  a  virtuous  wife,  and  her  three  tender  children  lisp  then  father's 
name.  How  could  a  heart,  torn  asunder  by  sadness  and  longing, 
aspire  to  the  Pearl  of  Beauty,  and  offer  her  a  divided  love  ?" 

This  explanation  was  distinct ;  and  the  Count  believed  that, 
as  it  were  by  one  stroke,  and  in  the  spirit  of  true  knighthood, 
he  had  ended  this  strife  of  love.  He  conceived  that  the  Princess 
would  now  see  her  over-hasty  error,  and  renounce  her  plan.  But 


136 


MUS^US. 


here  he  was  exceedingly  mistaken.  The  Princess  could  not  bring 
herself  to  think  that  the  Count,  a  young  blooming  man,  could  be 
without  eyes  for  her ;  she  knew  that  she  was  lovely ;  and  this 
frank  exposition  of  the  state  of  his  heart  made  no  impression  on 
her  whatever.  According  to  the  fashion  of  her  country,  she  had 
no  thought  of  appropriating  to  herself  the  sole  possession  of  it ; 
for,  in  the  parabolic  sport  of  the  Seraglio,  she  had  often  heard, 
that  man's  love  is  like  a  thread  of  silk,  which  may  be  split  and 
parted,  so  that  every  filament  shall  still  remain  a  whole.  In 
truth,  a  sensible  similitude  ;  which  the  wit  of  our  Occidental 
ladies  has  never  yet  lighted  on !  Her  father's  Harem  had  also, 
from  her  earliest  years,  set  before  her  numerous  instances  of 
sociality  in  love ;  the  favourites  of  the  Sultan  lived  there  with 
one  another  in  the  kindest  unity. 

"  Thou  namest  me  the  Flower  of  the  World,"  replied  the 
Princess;  "  but  behold,  in  this  garden  there  are  many  flowers 
blossoming  beside  me,  to  delight  eye  and  heart  by  their  variety 
of  loveliness ;  nor  do  I  forbid  thee  to  partake  in  this  enjoyment 
along  with  me.  Should  I  require  of  thee,  in  thy  own  garden,  to 
plant  but  a  single  flower,  with  the  constant  sight  of  which  thy 
eye  would  grow  weary  ?  Thy  wife  shall  be  sharer  of  the  happiness 
I  am  providing  for  thee ;  thou  shalt  bring  her  into  thy  Harem ; 
to  me  she  shall  be  welcome ;  for  thy  sake  she  shall  become  my 
dearest  companion,  and  for  thy  sake  she  will  love  me  in  return. 
Her  little  children  also  shall  be  mine ;  I  will  give  them  shade, 
that  they  bud  pleasantly,  and  take  root  in  this  foreign  soil." 

The  doctrine  of  Toleration  in  Love  has,  in  our  enlightened 
century,  made  far  slower  progress  than  that  of  Toleration  in  Ke- 
ligion ;  otherwise  this  declaration  of  the  Princess  could  not  seem 
to  my  fair  readers  so  repulsive,  as  in  all  probability  it  will.  But 
Melechsala  was  an  Oriental ;  and  under  that  mild  sky,  Megaera 
Jealousy  has  far  less  influence  on  the  lovelier  half  of  the  species 
than  on  the  stronger;  whom,  in  return,  she  does  indeed  rule 
with  an  iron  sceptre. 

Count  Ernst  was  affected  by  this  meek  way  of  thinking ;  and 
who  knows  what  he  might  have  resolved  on,  could  he  have  de- 
pended on  an  equal  liberality  of  sentiment  from  his  Ottilia  at 
home,  and  contrived  in  any  way  to  overleap  the  other  stone  of 
stumbling  which  fronted  him, — the  renunciation  of  his  creed  ? 
He  by  no  means  hid  this  latter  difficulty  from  the  goddess  who 
was  courting  him  so  frankly ;  and,  easy  as  it  had  been  for  her  to 


MELECHSALA. 


137 


remove  all  previous  obstacles,  the  present  was  beyond  her  skill. 
The  confidential  session  was  adjourned,  without  any  settlement 
of  this  contested  point.  When  the  conference  broke  up,  the  pro- 
posals stood  as  in  a  frontier  conference  between  two  neighbouring 
states,  where  neither  party  will  relinquish  his  rights,  and  the  ad- 
justment of  the  matter  is  postponed  to  another  term,  while  the 
commissioners  in  the  interim  again  live  in  peace  with  each  other, 
and  enjoy  good  cheer  together. 

In  the  secret  conclave  of  the  Count,  the  mettled  Kurt,  as  we 
know,  had  a  seat  and  vote ;  his  master  opened  to  him  in  the 
evening  the  whole  progress  of  his  adventure,  for  he  was  much 
disquieted ;  and  it  is  very  possible  that  some  spark  of  love  may 
have  sputtered  over  from  the  heart  of  the  Princess  into  his,  too 
keen  for  the  ashes  of  his  lawful  fire  to  quench.  An  absence  of 
seven  years,  the  relinquished  hope  of  ever  being  re-united  with 
the  first  beloved,  and  the  offered  opportunity  of  occupying  the 
heart  as  it  desires,  are  three  critical  circumstances,  which,  in  so 
active  a  substance  as  love,  may  easily  produce  a  fermentation 
that  shall  quite  change  its  nature.  The  sagacious  Squire  pricked 
up  his  ears  at  hearing  of  these  interesting  events  ;  and,  as  if  the 
narrow  passage  of  the  auditory  nerves  had  not  been  sufficient  to 
convey  the  tidings  fast  enough  into  his  brain,  he  likewise  opened 
the  wide  doorway  of  his  mouth,  and  both  heard  and  tasted  the 
unexpected  news  with  great  avidity.  After  maturely  weighing 
everything,  his  vote  ran  thus  :  To  lay  hold  of  the  seeming  hope 
of  release  with  both  hands,  and  realise  the  Princess's  plan;  mean- 
while, to  do  nothing  either  for  it  or  against  it,  and  leave  the  issue 
to  Heaven.  "  You  are  blotted  out  from  the  book  of  the  living," 
said  he,  "in  your  native  land;  from  the  abyss  of  slavery  there 
is  no  deliverance,  if  you  do  not  hitch  yourself  up  by  the  rope  of 
love.  Your  spouse,  good  lady,  will  never  return  to  your  em- 
braces. If,  in  seven  years,  sorrow  for  your  loss  has  not  over- 
powered her  and  cut  her  off,  Time  has  overpowered  her  sorrow, 
and  she  is  happy  by  the  side  of  another.  But,  to  renounce  your 
religion  !  That  is  a  hard  nut,  in  good  sooth ;  too  hard  for  you 
to  crack.  Yet  there  are  means  for  this,  too.  In  no  country  on 
Earth  is  it  the  custom  for  the  wife  to  teach  the  husband  what 
road  to  take  for  Heaven ;  no,  she  follows  his  steps,  and  is  led 
and  guided  by  him  as  the  cloud  by  the  wind ;  looks  neither  to 
the  right  hand  nor  to  the  left,  nor  behind  her,  like  Lot's  wife, 
who  was  changed  into  a  pillar  of  salt :  for  where  the  husband 


138 


MUS^US. 


arrives,  there  is  her  abode.  I  have  a  wife  at  home,  too ;  but 
think  you,  if  I  were  stuck  in  Purgatory,  she  would  hesitate  to 
follow  me,  and  waft  fresh  air  upon  my  poor  soul  with  her  fan  ? 
So,  depend  on  it,  the  Princess  will  renounce  her'  false  Prophet. 
If  she  love  you  truly,  she  will,  to  a  certainty,  be  glad  to  change 
her  Paradise  for  ours." 

The  mettled  Kurt  added  much  farther  speaking  to  persuade 
his  master  that  he  ought  not  to  resist  this  royal  passion,  but  to 
forget  all  other  ties,  and  free  himself  from  his  captivity.  It  did 
not  strike  him,  that  by  his  confidence  in  the  affection  of  his  wife, 
he  had  recalled  to  his  master's  memory  the  affection  of  his 
own  amiable  spouse ;  a  remembrance  which  it  was  his  object  to 
abolish.  The  heart  of  the  Count  felt  crushed  as  in  a  press  ;  he 
rolled  to  this  side  and  that  on  his  bed ;  and  his  thoughts  and 
purposes  ran  athwart  each  other  in  the  strangest  perplexity,  till, 
towards  morning,  wearied  out  by  this  internal  tumult,  he  fell  into 
a  dead  sleep.  He  dreamed  that  his  fairest  front-tooth  had  dropped 
out,  at  which  he  felt  great  grief  and  heaviness  of  heart ;  but  on 
looking  at  the  gap  in  the  mirror,  to  see  whether  it  deformed  him 
much,  a  fresh  tooth  had  grown  forth  in  its  place,  fair  and  white 
as  the  rest,  and  the  loss  could  not  be  observed.  So  soon  as  he 
awoke,  he  felt  a  wish  to  have  his  dream  interpreted.  The  met- 
tled Kurt  soon  hunted  out  a  prophetic  Gipsy,  who  by  trade  read 
fortunes  from  the  hand  and  brow,  and  also  had  the  talent  of 
explaining  dreams.  The  Count  related  his  to  her  in  all  its  cir- 
cumstances ;  and  the  dingy  wrinkled  Pythoness,  after  meditating 
long  upon  it,  opened  her  puckered  mouth,  and  said :  "What  was 
dearest  to  thee  death  has  taken  away,  but  fate  will  soon  supply 
thy  loss." 

Now,  then,  it  was  plain  that  the  sage  Squire's  suppositions 
had  been  no  idle  fancies,  but  that  the  good  Ottilia,  from  sorrow 
at  the  loss  of  her  beloved  husband,  had  gone  down  to  the  grave. 
The  afflicted  widower,  who  as  little  doubted  of  this  tragic  circum- 
stance  as  if  it  had  been  notified  to  him  on  black-edged  paper  with 
seal  and  signature,  felt  all  that  a  man  who  values  the  integrity  of 
his  jaw  must  feel  when  he  loses  a  tooth,  which  bountiful  Nature 
is  about  to  replace  by  another ;  and  comforted  himself  under  this 
dispensation  with  the  well-known  balm  of  widowers  :  "It  is  the 
will  of  God;  I  must  submit  to  it !"  And  now,  holding  himself 
free  and  disengaged,  he  bent  all  his  sails,  hoisted  his  flags  and 
streamers,  and  steered  directly  for  the  haven  of  happy  love.  At 


MELECHSALA. 


139 


-  the  next  interview,  ho  thought  the  Princess  lovelier  than  ever ; 
his  looks  languished  towards  her,  and  her  slender  form  enchanted 
his  eye,  and  her  light  soft  gait  was  like  the  gait  of  a  goddess, 
though  she  actually  moved  the  one  foot  past  the  other,  in  mortal 
wise,  and  did  not,  in  the  style  of  goddesses,  come  hovering  along 
the  variegated  sand-walk  with  unbent  limbs.  "Bostangi,"  said 
she,  with  melodious  voice,  "hast  thou  spoken  to  the  Iman  ?" 
The  Count  was  silent  for  a  moment ;  he  cast  down  his  beaming 
eyes,  laid  his  hand  submissively  on  his  breast,  and  sank  on  his 
knee  before  her.  In  this  humble  attitude,  he  answered  resolutely: 
"  Exalted  daughter  of  the  Sultan  !  my  life  is  at  thy  nod,  but  not 
my  faith.  The  former  I  will  joyfully  offer  up  to  thee  ;  but  leave 
me  the  latter,  which  is  so  interwoven  with  my  soul,  that  only 
death  can  part  them."  From  this,  it  was  apparent  to  the  Princess 
that  her  fine  enterprise  was  verging  towards  shipwreck ;  where- 
fore she  adopted  a  heroical  expedient,  undoubtedly  of  far  more 
certain  effect  than  our  animal  magnetism,  with  all  its  renowned 
virtues :  she  unveiled  her  face.  There  stood  she,  in  the  full 
radiance  of  beauty,  like  the  Sun  when  he  first  raised  his  head 
from  Chaos  to  hurl  his  rays  over  the  gloomy  Earth.  Soft  blushes 
overspread  her  cheeks,  and  higher  purple  glowed  upon  her  lips ; 
two  beautifully-curved  arches,  on  which  love  was  sporting  like 
the  many-coloured  Iris  on  the  rainbow,  shaded  her  spirit-speak- 
ing eyes ;  and  two  golden  tresses  kissed  each  other  on  her  lily 
breast.  The  Count  was  astonished  and  speechless  ;  the  Princess 
addressed  him,  and  said  : 

' '  See,  Bostangi,  whether  this  form  pleases  thy  eyes,  and 
whether  it  deserves  the  sacrifice  which  I  require  of  thee." 

"  It  is  the  form  of  an  Angel,"  answered  he,  with  looks  of  the 
highest  rapture,  "  and  deserves  to  shine,  encircled  with  a  glory, 
in  the  courts  of  the  Christian  Heaven,,  compared  with  which,  the 
delights  of  the  Prophet's  Paradise  are  empty  shadows." 

These  words,  spoken  with  warmth  and  visible  conviction, 
found  free  entrance  into  the  open  heart  of  the  Princess :  espe- 
cially, the  glory,  it  appeared  to  her,  must  be  a  sort  of  head-dress 
that  would  sit  not  ill  upon  the  face.  Her  quick  fancy  fastened  on 
this  idea,  which  she  asked  to  have  explained ;  and  the  Count  with 
all  eagerness  embraced  this  opportunity  of  painting  the  Christian 
.  Heaven  to  her  as  charming  as  he  possibly  could ;  he  chose  the 
loveliest  images  his  mind  would  suggest ;  and  spoke  with  as  much 
confidence  as  if  he  had  descended  directly  from  the  place  on  a 


140 


MUS^US. 


mission  to  the  Princess.  Now,  as  it  has  pleased  the  Prophet  to 
endow  the  fair  sex  with  very  scanty  expectations  in  the  other 
world,  our  apostolic  preacher  failed  the  less  in  his  intentions ; 
though  it  cannot  he  asserted  that  he  was  preeminently  qualified 
for  the  missionary  duty.  But  whether  it  were  that  Heaven  itself 
favoured  the  work  of  conversion,  or  that  the  foreign  tastes  of  the 
Princess  extended  to  the  spiritual  conceptions  of  the  Western 
nations,  or  that  the  person  of  this  Preacher  to  the  Heathen  mixed 
in  the  effect,  certain  it  is  she  was  all  ear,  and  would  have  listened 
to  her  pedagogue  with  pleasure  for  many  hours  longer,  had  not 
the  approach  of  night  cut  short  their  lesson.  For  the  present, 
she  hastily  dropped  her  veil,  and  retired  to  the  Seraglio. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact,  that  the  children  of  princes  are  always 
very  docile,  and  make  giant  steps  in  every  branch  of  profitable 
knowledge,  as  our  Journals  often  plainly  enough  testify  ;  while 
the  other  citizens  of  this  world  must  content  themselves  with 
dwarf  steps.  It  was  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  the  Sultan 
of  Egypt's  daughter  had  in  a  short  space  mastered  the  whole 
synopsis  of  Church  doctrine  as  completely  as  her  teacher  could 
impart  it,  bating  a  few  heresies,  which,  in  his  inacquaintance  with 
the  delicate  shades  of  faith,  he  had  undesignedly  mingled  with  it. 
Nor  did  this  acquisition  remain  a  dead  letter  with  her ;  it  awak- 
ened the  most  zealous  wish  for  proselytising.  Accordingly,  the 
plan  of  the  Princess  had  now  in  so  far  altered,  that  she  no  longer 
insisted  on  converting  the  Count,  but  rather  felt  inclined  to  let 
herself  be  converted  by  him  ;  and  this  not  only  in  regard  to  unity 
in  faith,  but  also  to  the  purposed  unity  in  love.  The  whole  ques- 
tion now  was,  by  what  means  this  intention  could  be  realised. 
She  took  counsel  with  Bostangi,  he  with  the  mettled  Kurt,  in 
their  nocturnal  deliberations  on  this  weighty  matter ;  and  tihe 
latter  voted  distinctly  to  strike  the  iron  while  it  was  hot ;  to  in- 
form the  fair  proselyte  of  the  Count's  rank  and  birth;  propose  to 
her  to  run  away  with  him ;  instantly  to  cross  the  water  for  the 
European  shore  ;  and  live  together  in  Thuringia  as  Christian  man 
and  wife. 

The  Count  clapped  loud  applause  to  this  well-grounded  scheme 
of  his  wise  Squire ;  it  was  as  if  the  mettled  Kurt  had  read  it  in  his 
master's  eyes.  Whether  the  fulfilment  of  it  might  be  clogged  with 
difficulties  or  not,  was  a  point  not  taken  into  view  in  the  first  fire 
of  the  romantic  project  :  Love  removes  all  mountains,  overleaps 
walls  and  trenches,  bounds  across  abyss  and  chasm,  and  steps  the 


MELECHSALA. 


141 


barrier  of  a  city  as  lightly  as  it  does  a  straw.  At  the  next  lecture, 
the  Count  disclosed  the  plan  to  his  beloved  catechumena. 

"  Thou  reflection  of  the  Holy  Virgin, "  said  he,  "  chosen  of 
Heaven  from  an  outcast  people,  to  gain  the  victory  over  prejudice 
and  error,  and  acquire  a  lot  and  inheritance  in  the  Abodes  of  Feli- 
city, hast  thou  the  courage  to  forsake  thy  native  country,  then  pre- 
pare for  speedy  flight.  I  will  guide  thee  to  Kome,  where  dwells 
the  Porter  of  Heaven,  St.  Peter's  deputy,  to  whom  are  committed 
the  keys  of  Heaven's  gate;  that  he  may  receive  thee  into  the  bosom 
of  the  Church,  and  bless  the  covenant  of  our  love.  Fear  not  that 
thy  father's  potent  arm  may  reach  us ;  every  cloud  above  our  heads 
will  be  a  ship  manned  with  angelic  hosts,  with  diamond  shields 
and  flaming  swords  ;  invisible  indeed  to  mortal  eye,  but  armed 
with  heavenly  might,  and  appointed  to  watch  and  guard  thee.  Nor 
will  I  conceal  any  longer,  that  I  am,  by  birth  and  fortune,  all  that 
the  Sultan's  favour  could  make  me;  a  Count,  that  is  a  Bey  born, 
who  rules  over  land  and  people.  The  limits  of  my  lordship  in- 
clude towns  and  villages,  palaces  also  and  strongholds.  Knights 
and  squires  obey  me  ;  horses  and  carriages  stand  ready  for  my 
service.  In  my  native  land,  thou  thyself,  enclosed  by  no  walls 
of  a  seraglio,  shalt  live  and  rule  in  freedom  as  a  queen." 

This  oration  of  the  Count  the  Princess  thought  a  message 
from  above  ;  she  entertained  no  doubts  of  his  truth  ;  and  it 
seemed  to  please  her  that  the  Ringdove  was  to  nestle,  not  beside 
a  Linnet,  but  beside  a  bird  of  the  family  of  the  Eagle.  Her  warm 
fancy  was  filled  with  such  sweet  anticipations,  that  she  consented, 
with  all  the  alacrity  of  the  Children  of  Israel,  to  forsake  the  land 
of  Egypt,  as  if  a  new  Canaan,  in  another  quarter  of  the  world, 
had  been  waiting  her  beyond  the  sea.  Confident  in  the  protection 
of  the  unseen  life-guard  promised  to  her,  she  would  have  followed 
her  conductor  from  the  precincts  of  the  Palace  forthwith,  had  he 
not  instructed  her  that  many  preparations  were  required,  before 
the  great  enterprise  could  be  engaged  in  with  any  hope  of  a  happy 
issue. 

Among  all  privateering  transactions  by  sea  or  land,  there  is 
none  more  ticklish,  or  combined  with  greater  difficulties,  than  that 
of  kidnapping  the  Grand  Signior's  favourite  from  his  arms.  Such 
a  masterstroke  could  only  be  imagined  by  the  teeming  fancy  of 
a  W*z*l,9  nor  could  any  but  a  Kakerlak  achieve  it.    Yet  the 

9  J.  K.  Wetzel,  author  of  some  plays  and  novels;  among  the  latter,  of 
Kakerlak. — Ed. 


142 


MUS^US. 


undertaking  of  Count  Ernst  of  Gleichen  to  carry  off  the  Sultan  of 
Egypt's  daughter,  was  environed  with  no  fewer  difficulties  ;  and 
as  these  two  heroes  come,  to  a  certain  extent,  into  competition  in 
this  matter,  we  must  say,  that  the  adventure  of  the  Count  was  in- 
finitely bolder,  seeing  everything  proceeded  merely  by  the  course 
of  Nature,  and  no  serviceable  Fairy  put  a  finger  in  the  pie  :  never- 
theless, the  result  of  both  these  corresponding  enterprises,  in  the 
one  as  well  as  in  the  other,  came  about  entirely  to  the  wish  of 
parties.  The  Princess  filled  her  jewel-box  sufficiently  with  pre- 
cious stones  ;  changed  her  royal  garment  with  a  Kaftan ;  and  one 
evening,  under  the  safe-conduct  of  her  beloved,  his  trusty  Squire 
and  the  phlegmatic  Water-drawer,  glided  forth  from  the  Palace 
into  the  Garden,  unobserved,  to  enter  on  her  far  journey  to  the 
West.  Her  absence  could  not  long  remain  concealed;  her  women 
sought  her,  as  the  proverb  runs,  like  a  lost  pin  ;  and  as  she  did 
not  come  to  light,  the  alarm  in  the  Seraglio  became  boundless. 
Hints  here  and  there  had  already  been  dropped,  and  surmises 
made,  about  the  private  audiences  of  the  Bostangi ;  supposition 
and  fact  were  strung  together  ;  and  the  whole  produced,  in  sooth, 
no  row  of  pearls,  but  the  horrible  discovery  of  the  real  nature  of 
the  case.  The  Divan  of  Dames  had  nothing  for  it  but  to  send 
advice  of  the  occurrence  to  the  higher  powers.  Father  Sultan, 
whom  the  virtuous  Melechsala,  everything  considered,  might  have 
spared  this  pang,  and  avoided  flying  her  country  to  make  purchase 
of  a  glory,  demeaned  himself  at  this  intelligence  like  an  infuriated 
lion,  who  shakes  his  brown  mane  with  dreadful  bellowing,  when 
by  the  uproar  of  the  hunt,  and  the  baying  of  the  hounds,  he  is 
frightened  from  his  den.  He  swore  by  the  Prophet's  beard  that 
he  would  utterly  destroy  every  living  soul  in  the  Seraglio,  if  at 
sunrise  the  Princess  were  not  again  in  her  father's  power.  The 
Mameluke  guard  had  to  mount,  and  gallop  towards  the  four  winds, 
in  chase  of  the  fugitives,  by  every  road  from  Cairo;  and  a  thousand 
oars  were  lashing  the  broad  back  of  the  Nile,  in  case  she  might 
have  taken  a  passage  by  water. 

Under  such  efforts,  to  elude  the  far-stretching  arm  of  the 
Sultan  was  impossible,  unless  the  Count  possessed  the  secret  of 
rendering  himself  and  his  travelling  party  invisible  ;  or  the  mira- 
culous gift  of  smiting  all  Egypt  with  blindness.  But  of  these 
talents  neither  had  been  lent  him.  Only  the  mettled  Kurt  had 
taken  certain  measures,  which,  in  regard  to  their  effect,  might 
supply  the  place  of  .miracles.  He  had  rendered  his  flying  caravan 


MELECHSALA. 


143 


invisible,  by  the  darkness  of  an  unlighted  cellar  in  the  house  of 
Adullam  the  sudorific  Hebrew.  This  Jewish  Hermes  did  not 
satisfy  himself  with  practising  the  healing  art  to  good  advantage, 
but  drew  profit  likewise  from  the  gift  which  he  had  received  by 
inheritance  from  his  fathers ;  and  thus  honoured  Mercury  in  all 
his  three  qualities,  of  Patron  to  Doctors,  to  Merchants,  and  to 
Thieves.  He  drove  a  great  trade  in  spiceries  and  herbs  with  the 
Venetians,  from  which  he  had  acquired  much  wealth  ;  and  he  dis- 
dained no  branch  of  business  whereby  anything  was  to  be  made. 
This  worthy  Israelite,  who  for  money  and  money's  worth,  stood 
ready,  without  investigating  moral  tendencies,  for  any  sort  of  deed, 
the  trusty  Squire  had  prevailed  on,  by  a  jewel  from  the  casket 
of  the  Princess,  to  undertake  the  transport  of  the  Count,  whose 
rank  and  intention  were  not  concealed  from  him,  with  three  ser- 
vants, to  a  Venetian  ship  that  was  loading  at  Alexandria ;  but  it 
had  prudently  been  hidden  from  him,  that  in  the  course  of  this 
contraband  transaction,  he  must  smuggle  out  his  master's  daughter. 
On  first  inspecting  his  cargo,  the  figure  of  the  fair  youth  struck 
him  somewhat ;  but  he  thought  no  ill  of  it,  and  took  him  for  a 
page  of  the  Count's.  Ere  long  the  report  of  the  Princess  Melech- 
sala's  disappearance  sounded  over  all  the  city :  then  Adullam' s 
eyes  were  opened ;  deadly  terror  took  possession  of  his  heart,  so 
that  his  gray  beard  began  to  stir,  and  he  wished  with  all  his  soul 
that  his  hands  had  been  free  of  this  perilous  concern.  But  now 
it  was  too  late ;  his  own  safety  required  him  to  summon  all  his 
cunning,  and  conduct  this  breakneck  business  to  a  happy  end. 
In  the  first  place,  he  laid  his  subterranean  lodgers  under  rigorous 
quarantine  ;  and  then,  after  the  sharpest  of  the  search  was  over, 
the  hope  of  finding  the  Princess  considerably  faded,  and  the  zeal 
in  seeking  for  her  cooled,  he  packed  the  whole  caravan  neatly  up 
in  four  bales  of  herbs,  put  them  on  board  a  Nile-boat,  and  sent 
them  with  a  proper  invoice,  under  God's  guidance,  safe  and  sound 
to  Alexandria ;  where  so  soon  as  the  Venetian  had  gained  the 
open  sea,  they  were  liberated,  all  and  sundry,  from  their  strait 
confinement  in  the  herb -sacks. 10 

Whether  the  celestial  body-guard,  with  diamond  shields  and 

10  The  invention  of  travelling  in  a  sack  was  several  times  employed  during 
the  Crusades.  Dietrich  the  Hard-bested,  Markgraf  of  Meissen  (Misnia),  re- 
turned from  Palestine  to  his  hereditary  possessions,  under  this  incognito,  and 
bo  escaped  the  snares  of  the  Emperor  Henry  VI.,  who  had  an  eye  to  the  pro- 
ductive mines  of  Freyberg. — M. 


144 


MUBiBUS. 


flaming  swords,  ported  on  a  gorgeous  train  of  clouds,  did  follow 
the  swift  ship,  could  not  now,  as  they  were  invisible,  be  properly 
substantiated  in  a  court  of  justice ;  yet  there  are  not  wanting 
symptoms  in  the  matter  which  might  lead  to  some  such  conjec- 
ture. All  the  four  winds  of  Heaven  seem  to  have  combined  to 
make  the  voyage  prosperous  ;  the  adverse  held  their  breath  ;  and 
the  favourable  blew  so  gaily  in  the  sails,  that  the  vessel  ploughed 
the  soft-playing  billows  with  the  speed  of  an  arrow.  The  friendly 
moon  was  stretching  her  horns  from  the  clouds  for  the  second 
time,  when  the  Venetian,  glad  in  heart,  ran  into  moorings  in  the 
harbour  of  his  native  town. 

Countess  Ottilia's  watchful  spy  was  still  at  Venice ;  undis- 
mayed by  the  fruitless  toil  of  vain  inquiries,  from  continuing  his 
diets  of  examination,  and  diligently  questioning  all  passengers 
from  the  Levant.  He  was  at  his  post  when  the  Count,  with  the 
fair  Melechsala,  came  on  land.  His  master's  physiognomy  was 
so  stamped  upon  his  memory,  that  he  would  have  undertaken  to 
discover  it  among  a  thousand  unknown  faces.  Nevertheless  the 
foreign  garb,  and  the  finger  of  Time,  which  in  seven  years  pro- 
duces many  changes,  made  him  for  some  moments  doubtful.  To 
be  certain  of  his  object,  he  approached  the  stranger's  suite,  made 
up  to  the  trusty  Squire,  and  asked  him  :  "  Comrade,  whence 
come  you  ?" 

The  mettled  Kurt  rejoiced  to  meet  a  countryman,  and  hear 
the  sound  of  his  mother-tongue ;  but  saw  no  profit  in  submitting 
his  concerns  to  the  questioning  of  a  stranger,  and  answered  briefly : 
"  From  sea." 

"  Who  is  the  gentleman  thou  followest  ?" 

"My  master." 

"  From  what  country  come  you  7" 

"From  the  East." 

"  Whither  are  you  going  ?" 

"To  the  West." 

"  To  what  province  ?" 

"  To  our  home." 

"  Where  is  it?" 

"  Miles  of  road  from  this." 

"  What  is  thy  name?" 

"  Start-the-game,  that  is  my  name.  Strike-for-a-word,  people 
call  my  sword.  Sorrow-of-life,  so  hight  my  wife.  Rise,  Lig-a- 
bed,  she  cries  to  her  maid.    Still-at-a-stand,  that  is  my  man. 


MELECHSALA. 


145 


Hobbletehoy,  I  christened  my  boy.  Lank-i'-the-bag,  I  scold  my 
nag.  Shamble-and-stalk,  we  call  his  walk.  Trot-i'-the-bog,  I 
whistle  my  dog.  Saw-ye-that,  so  jumps  my  cat.  Snug-in-the- 
rug,  he  is  my  bug.  Now  thou  knowest  me,  with  wife  and  child, 
and  all  my  household." 

"  Thou  seemest  to  me  to  be  a  queer  fellow." 

"  I  am  no  fellow  at  all,  for  I  follow  no  handicraft." 

"  Answer  me  one  question." 

"  Let  us  hear  it." 

"  Hast  thou  any  news  of  Count  Ernst  of  Gleichen,  from  the 
East  ?" 

"  Wherefore  dost  thou  ask  ?" 
"  Therefore." 

"  Twiddle,  twaddle  !    Wherefore,  therefore  !" 

"  Because  I  am  sent  into  all  the  world  by  the  Countess  Ot- 
tilia his  wife,  to  get  her  word  whether  her  husband  is  still  living, 
and  in  what  corner  of  the  Earth  he  may  be  found." 

This  answer  put  the  mettled  Kurt  into  some  perplexity ;  and 
tuned  him  to  another  key.  "  Wait  a  little,  neighbour,"  said  he ; 
"  perhaps  my  master  knows  about  the  thing."  Thereupon  he  ran 
to  the  Count,  and  whispered  the  tidings  in  his  ear.  The  feeling 
they  awoke  was  complex ;  made  up  in  equal  proportions  of  joy 
and  consternation.  Count  Ernst  perceived  that  his  dream,  or 
the  interpretation  of  it,  had  misled  him  ;  and  that  the  conceit  of 
marrying  his  fair  travelling  companion  might  easily  be  baulked. 
On  the  spur  of  the  moment  he  knew  not  how  he  should  get  out 
of  this  embroiled  affair  :  meanwhile,  the  desire  to  learn  how  mat- 
ters stood  at  home  outweighed  all  scruples.  He  beckoned  to  the 
emissary,  whom  he  soon  recognised  for  his  old  valet ;  and  who 
wetted  with  joyful  tears  the  hand  of  his  recovered  master,  and 
told  in  many  words  what  jubilee  the  Countess  would  make,  when 
she  received  the  happy  message  of  her  husband's  return.  The 
Count  took  him  with  the  rest  to  the  inn ;  and  there  engaged  in 
earnest  meditation  on  the  singular  state  of  his  heart,  and  con- 
sidered deeply  what  was  to  be  done  with  his  engagements  to  the 
fair  Saracen.  Without  loss  of  time  the  watchful  spy  was  dis- 
patched to  the  Countess  with  a  letter,  containing  a  true  state- 
ment of  the  Count's  fortunes  in  slavery  at  Cairo,  and  of  his 
deliverance  by  means  of  the  Sultan's  daughter;  how  she  had 
abandoned  throne  and  country  for  his  sake,  under  the  condition 
that  he  was  to  marry  her,  which  he  himself,  deceived  by  a  dream, 

VOL.  III.  L 


146 


MUS^US. 


had  promised.  By  this  narrative  he  meant  not  only  to  prepare 
his  wife  for  a  participatress  in  her  marriage  rights ;  but  also  en- 
deavoured, in  the  course  of  it,  by  many  sound  arguments,  to  gain 
her  own  consent  to  the  arrangement. 

Countess  Ottilia  was  standing  at  the  window  in  her  mourning 
weeds,  as  the  news-bringer  for  the  last  time  gave  his  breathless 
horse  the  spur,  to  hasten  it  up  the  steep  Castle-path.  Her  sharp 
eye  recognised  him  in  the  distance ;  and  he  too  being  nothing  of 
a  blinkard, — a  class  of  persons  very  rare  in  the  days  of  the  Cru- 
sades,— recognised  the  Countess  also,  raised  the  letter-bag  aloft 
over  his  head,  and  waved  it  like  a  standard  in  token  of  good 
news  ;  and  the  lady  understood  his  signal,  as  well  as  if  the  Hanau 
Synthematograph  had  been  on  duty  there.  "  Hast  thou  found 
him,  the  husband  of  my  heart?"  cried  she,  as  he  approached. 
"Where  lingers  he,  that  I  may  rise  and  wipe  the  sweat  from 
his  brow,  and  let  him  rest  in  my  faithful  arms  from  his  toilsome 
journeying?" — "Joy  to  you,  my  lady,"  said  the  post;  "his 
lordship  is  well.  I  found  him  in  the  Port  of  Venice,  from  which 
he  sends  you  this  under  his  hand  and  seal,  to  announce  his  arri- 
val himself."  The  Countess  could  not  hastily  enough  undo  the 
seal ;  and  at  sight  of  her  husband's  hand,  she  felt  as  if  the  breath 
of  life  were  coming  back  to  her.  Three  times  she  pressed  the 
letter  to  her  beating  heart,  and  three  times  touched  it  with  her 
languishing  hps.  A  shower  of  joyful  tears  streamed  over  the 
parchment,  as  she  began  reading  :  but  the  farther  she  read,  the 
drops  fell  the  slower ;  and  before  the  reading  was  completed,  the 
fountain  of  tears  had  dried  up  altogether. 

The  contents  of  the  letter  could  not  all  interest  the  good  lady 
equally ;  her  husband's  proposed  partition  treaty  of  his  heart  had 
not  the  happiness  to  meet  with  her  approval.  Greatly  as  the 
spirit  of  partition  has  acquired  the  upper  hand  nowadays,  so  that 
parted  love  and  parted  provinces  have  become  the  device  of  our 
century ;  these  things  were  little  to  the  taste  of  old  times,  when 
every  heart  had  its  own  key,  and  a  master-key  that  would  open 
several  was  regarded  as  a  scandalous  thief-picklock.  The  intoler- 
ance of  the  Countess  in  this  point  was  at  least  a  proof  of  her 
unvarnished  love:  "Ah!  that  doleful  Crusade,"  cried  she,  "is 
the  cause  of  it  all.  I  lent  the  Holy  Church  a  Loaf,  of  which  the 
Heathen  have  eaten ;  and  nothing  but  a  Crust  of  it  returns  to 
me."  A  vision  of  the  night,  however,  soothed  her  troubled  mind, 
and  gave  her  whole  view  of  the  affair  another  aspect.  She  dreamed 


MELECHSALA. 


147 


that  there  came  two  pilgrims  from  the  Holy  Sepulchre  up  the 
winding  Castle-road,  and  begged  a  lodging,  which  she  kindly- 
granted  them.  One  of  them  threw  off  his  cloak,  and  behold  it 
was  the  Count  her  lord !  She  joyfully  embraced  him,  and  was 
in  raptures  at  his  return.  The  children  too  came  in,  and  he 
clasped  them  in  his  paternal  arms,  pressed  them  to  his  heart,  and 
praised  their  looks  and  growth.  Meanwhile  his  companion  laid 
aside  his  travelling  pouch  ;  drew  from  it  golden  chains  and  pre- 
cious strings  of  jewelry,  and  hung  them  round  the  necks  of  the 
little  ones,  who  showed  delighted  with  these  glittering  presents. 
The  Countess  was  herself  surprised  at  this  munificence,  and  asked 
the  stranger  who  he  was.  He  answered  :  "I  am  the  Angel  Ra- 
phael,  the  guide  of  the  loving,  and  have  brought  thy  husband  to 
thee  out  of  foreign  lands."  His  pilgrim  garments  melted  away; 
and  a  shining  angel  stood  before  her,  in  an  azure  robe,  with  two 
golden  wings  on  his  shoulders.  Thereupon  she  awoke,  and,  in 
the  absence  of  an  Egyptian  Sibyl,  herself  interpreted  the  dream 
according  to  her  best  skill ;  and  found  so  many  points  of  simi- 
larity between  the  Angel  Kaphael  and  the  Princess  Melechsala, 
that  she  doubted  not  the  latter  had  been  shadowed  forth  to  her 
in  vision  under  the  figure  of  the  former.  At  the  same  time  she 
took  into  consideration  the  fact  that,  without  her  help,  the  Count 
could  scarcely  ever  have  escaped  from  slavery.  And  as  it  be- 
hoves the  owner  of  a  lost  piece  of  property  to  deal  generously 
with  the  finder,  who  might  have  kept  it  all  to  himself,  she  no 
longer  hesitated  to  resolve  on  the  surrender.  The  water-bailiff, 
well  rewarded  for  his  watchfulness,  was  therefore  dispatched  forth- 
with back  into  Italy,  with  the  formal  consent  of  the  Countess  for 
her  husband  to  complete  the  trefoil  of  his  marriage  without  loss 
of  time. 

The  only  question  now  was,  whether  Father  Gregory  at  Rome 
would  give  his  benediction  to  this  matrimonial  anomaly ;  and  be 
persuaded,  for  the  Count's  sake,  to  refound,  by  the  word  of  his 
mouth,  the  substance,  form  and  essence  of  the  Sacrament  of  Mar- 
riage. The  pilgrimage  accordingly  set  forth  from  Venice  to  Rome, 
where  the  Princess  Melechsala  solemnly  abjured  the  Koran,  and 
entered  into  the  bosom  of  the  Church.  At  this  spiritual  conquest 
the  Holy  Father  testified  as  much  delight  as  if  the  kingdom  of 
Antichrist  had  been  entirely  destroyed,  or  reduced  under  subjec- 
tion to  the  Romish  chair ;  and  after  the  baptism,  on  which  occa- 
sion she  had  changed  her  Saracenic  name  for  the  more  orthodox 


148 


MUS2EUS. 


Angelica,  he  caused  a  pompous  Te-deum  to  be  celebrated  m  St. 
Peter's.  These  happy  aspects  Count  Ernst  endeavoured  to  im- 
prove for  his  purpose,  before  the  Pope's  good -humour  should 
evaporate.  He  brought  his  matrimonial  concern  to  light  without 
delay  :  but,  alas  !  no  sooner  asked  than  rejected.  The  conscience 
of  St.  Peter's  Yicar  was  so  tender  in  this  case,  that  he  reckoned  it 
a  greater  heresy  to  advocate  triplicity  in  marriage  than  Tritheism 
itself.  Many  plausible  arguments  as  the  Count  brought  forward 
to  accomplish  an  exception  from  the  common  rule  in  his  own 
favour,  they  availed  no  jot  in  moving  the  exemplary  Pope  to 
wink  with  one  eye  of  his  conscience,  and  vouchsafe  the  peti- 
tioned dispensation  :  a  result  which  cut  Count  Ernst  to  the 
heart.  His  sly  counsel,  the  mettled  Kurt,  had  in  the  mean 
time  struck  out  a  bright  expedient  for  accomplishing  the  mar- 
riage of  his  master  with  the  fair  convert,  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  Pope  and  Christendom  in  general;  only  he  had  not  risked 
disclosing  it,  lest  it  might  cost  him  his  master's  favour.  Yet 
at  last  he  found  his  opportunity,  and  put  the  matter  into  words. 
"Dear  master,"  said  he,  "do  not  vex  yourself  so  much  about 
the  Pope's  perverseness.  If  you  cannot  get  round  him  on  the 
one  side,  you  must  try  him  on  the  other :  there  are  more  roads 
to  the  wood  than  one.  If  the  Holy  Father  has  too  tender  a  con- 
science to  permit  your  taking  two  wives,  then  it  is  fair  for  you 
also  to  have  a  tender  conscience,  though  you  are  no  priest  but  a 
layman.  Conscience  is  a  cloak  that  covers  every  hole,  and  has 
withal  the  quality  that  it  can  be  turned  according  to  the  wind : 
at  present,  when  the  wind  is  cross,  you  must  put  the  cloak  on 
the  other  shoulder.  Examine  whether  you  are  not  related  to 
the  Countess  Ottilia  within  the  prohibited  degrees  :  if  so,  as  will 
surely  be  the  case,  if  you  have  a  tender  conscience,  then  the  game 
is  your  own.  Get  a  divorce  ;  and  who  the  deuce  can  hinder  you 
from  wedding  the  Princess  then  ?" 

The  Count  had  listened  to  his  Squire  till  the  sense  of  his 
oration  was  completely  before  him  ;  then  he  answered  it  with  two 
words,  shortly  and  clearly:  "Peace,  Dog  !"  In  the  same  moment,, 
the  mettled  Kurt  found  himself  lying  at  full  length  without  the 
door,  and  seeking  for  a  tooth  or  two  which  had  dropped  from  him 
in  this  rapid  transit.  "  Ah  !  the  precious  tooth,"  cried  he  from 
without,  "has  been  sacrificed  to  my  faithful  zeal!"  This  tooth 
monologue  reminded  the  Count  of  his  dream.  "  Ah  !  the  cursed 
tooth,"  cried  he  from  within,  "which  I  dreamed  of  losing,  has 


MELECHSALA. 


149 


been  the  cause  of  all  this  mischief!"  His  heart,  between  self- 
reproaches  for  unfaithfulness  to  his  amiable  wife,  and  for  pro- 
hibited love  to  the  charming  Angelica,  kept  wavering  like  a  bell, 
which  yields  a  sound  on  both  sides,  when  set  in  motion.  Still 
more  than  the  flame  of  his  passion,  the  fire  of  indignation  burnt 
and  gnawed  him,  now  that  he  saw  the  visible  impossibility  of 
ever  keeping  his  word  to  the  Princess,  and  taking  her  in  wedlock. 
All  which  distresses,  by  the  way,  led  him  to  the  just  experimental 
conclusion,  that  a  parted  heart  is  not  the  most  desirable  of  things ; 
and  that  the  lover,  in  these  circumstances,  but  too  much  resembles 
the  Ass  Baldwin  between  his  two  bundles  of  hay. 

In  such  a  melancholy  posture  of  affairs,  he  lost  his  jovial 
humour  altogether,  and  wore  the  aspect  of  an  atrabiliar,  whom  in 
bad  weather  the  atmosphere  oppresses  till  the  spleen  is  like  to 
crush  the  soul  out  of  his  body.  Princess  Angelica  observed  that 
her  lover's  looks  were  no  longer  as  yesterday,  and  ere-yesterday  : 
it  grieved  her  soft  heart,  and  moved  her  to  resolve  on  making 
trial  whether  she  should  not  be  more  successful,  if  she  took  the 
dispensation  business  in  her  own  hand.  She  requested  audience 
of  the  conscientious  Gregory ;  and  appeared  before  him  closely 
veiled,  according  to  the  fashion  of  her  country.  No  Koman  eye 
had  yet  seen  her  face,  except  the  priest  who  baptised  her.  His 
Holiness  received  the  new-born  daughter  of  the  Church  with  all 
suitable  respect,  offered  her  the  palm  of  his  right  hand  to  kiss, 
and  not  his  perfumed  slipper.  The  fair  stranger  raised  her  veil 
a  little  to  touch  the  sacred  hand  with  her  lips ;  then  opened  her 
mouth,  and  clothed  her  petition  in  a  touching  address.  Yet  this 
insinuation  through  the  Papal  ear  seemed  not  sufficiently  to  know 
the  interior  organisation  of  the  Head  of  the  Church  ;  for  instead 
of  taking  the  road  to  the  heart,  it  passed  through  the  other  ear 
out  into  the  air.  Father  Gregory  expostulated  long  with  the 
lovely  supplicant ;  and  imagined  he  had  found  a  method  for  in 
some  degree  contenting  her  desire  of  union  with  a  bridegroom, 
without  offence  to  the  ordinations  of  the  Church :  he  proposed  to 
her  a  spiritual  wedlock,  if  she  could  resolve  on  a  slight  change 
of  the  veil,  the  Saracenic  for  the  Nun's.  This  proposal  suddenly 
awakened  in  the  Princess  such  a  horror  at  veils,  that  she  directly 
tore  away  her  own  ;  sank  full  of  despair  before  the  holy  footstool, 
and  with  uplifted  hands  and  tearful  eyes,  conjured  the  venerable 
Father  by  his  sacred  slipper,  not  to  do  violence  to  her  heart,  and 
constrain  her  to  bestow  it  elsewhere. 


150 


MUS^US. 


The  sight  of  her  heauty  was  more  eloquent  than  her  lips  ;  it 
enraptured  all  present ;  and  the  tear  which  gathered  in  her  hea- 
venly eye  fell  like  a  burning  drop  of  naphtha  on  the  Holy  Father's 
heart,  and  kindled  the  small  fraction  of  earthly  tinder  that  still 
lay  hid  there,  and  warmed  it  into  sympathy  for  the  petitioner. 
"  Rise,  beloved  daughter,"  said  he,  "  and  weep  not  !  What  has 
been  determined  in  Heaven,  shall  be  fulfilled  in  thee  on  Earth. 
In  three  days  thou  shalt  know  whether  this  thy  first  prayer  to 
the  Church  can  be  granted  by  that  gracious  Mother,  or  must  be 
denied."  Thereupon  he  summoned  an  assembly  of  all  the  Casu- 
ists in  Rome  ;  had  a  loaf  of  bread  and  a  bottle  of  wine  distributed 
to  each ;  and  locked  them  up  in  the  Rotunda,  with  the  warning 
that  no  one  of  them  should  be  let  out  again  till  the  question  had 
been  determined  unanimously.  So  long  as  the  loaves  and  wine 
held  out,  the  disputes  were  so  violent,  that  all  the  Saints,  had 
they  been  convened  in  the  church,  could  not  have  argued  with 
greater  noise.  But  so  soon  as  the  Digestive  Faculty  began  to 
have  a  voice  in  the  meeting,  he  was  listened  to  with  the  deepest 
attention,  and  happily  he  spoke  in  favour  of  the  Count,  who  had 
got  a  sumptuous  feast  made  ready  for  the  entertainment  of  the 
casuistic  Doctors,  when  the  Papal  seal  should  be  removed  from 
their  door.  The  Bull  of  Dispensation  was  drawn  out  in  proper 
form  of  law ;  in  furtherance  of  which  the  fair  Angelica  had,  not 
at  all  reluctantly,  inflicted  a  determined  cut  upon  the  treasures  of 
Egypt.  Father  Gregory  bestowed  his  benediction  on  the  noble 
pair,  and  sent  them  away  betrothed.  They  lost  no  time  in  leaving 
Peter's  Patrimony  for  the  territories  of  the  Count,  to  celebrate 
their  nuptials  on  arriving. 

When  Count  Ernst,  on  this  side  the  Alps,  again  inhaled  his 
native  air,  and  felt  it  come  soft  and  kindly  round  his  heart,  he 
mounted  his  steed ;  galloped  forward,  attended  only  by  the  heavy 
Groom,  and  left  the  Princess,  under  the  escort  of  the  mettled 
Kurt,  to  follow  him  by  easy  journeys. 

His  heart  beat  high  within  him,  when  he  saw  in  azure  dist- 
ance the  three  towers  of  Gleichen.  He  meant  to  take  his  gentle 
Countess  by  surprise  ;  but  the  news  of  his  approach  had  preceded 
him,  as  on  the  wings  of  the  wind ;  she  went  forth  with  man 
and  maid,  and  met  her  husband  a  furlong  from  the  Castle,  in  a 
pleasant  green,  which,  in  memory  of  this  event,  is  called  the 
Freudenthal,  or  Valley  of  Joy,  to  this  day.  The  meeting  on  both 
sides  was  as  trustful  and  tender,  as  if  no  partition  treaty  had  ever 


MELECHSALA. 


151 


been  thought  of :  for  Countess  Ottilia  was  a  proper  pattern  of  the 
pious  wife,  that  obeys  without  commentary  the  marriage  precept 
of  subjecting  her  will  to  the  will  of  her  husband.  If  at  times 
there  did  arise  some  small  sedition  in  her  heart,  she  did  not  on 
the  instant  ring  the  alarm-bell ;  but  she  shut  door  and  window, 
that  no  mortal  eye  might  look  in  and  see  what  passed;  and 
then  summoned  the  rebel  Passion  to  the  bar  of  Eeason,  gave  it 
over  in  custody  to  Prudence,  and  imposed  on  herself  a  voluntary 
penance. 

She  could  not  pardon  her  heart  for  having  murmured  at  the 
rival  sun  that  was  to  shine  beside  her  on  the  matrimonial  horizon  ; 
and  to  expiate  the  offence,  she  had  secretly  commissioned  a  triple 
bedstead,  with  stout  fir  posts,  painted  green,  the  colour  of  Hope ; 
and  a  round  vaulted  tester,  in  the  form  of  a  dome,  adorned  with 
winged  puffy-cheeked  heads  of  angels.  On  the  silken  coverlet, 
which  lay  for  show  over  the  downy  quilts,  was  exhibited  in  fine 
embroidery,  the  Angel  Raphael,  as  he  had  appeared  to  her  in 
vision,  beside  the  Count  in  pilgrim  weeds.  This  speaking  proof 
of  her  ready  matrimonial  complaisance  affected  her  husband  to 
the  soul.  He  clasped  her  to  his  breast,  and  overpowered  her 
with  kisses,  at  the  sight  of  this  arrangement  for  the  completion 
of  his  wedded  joys. 

"  Glorious  wife!"  cried  he  with  rapture,  "  this  temple  of  love 
exalts  thee  above  thousands  of  thy  sex;  as  an  honourable  me- 
morial, it  will  transmit  thy  name  to  future  ages ;  and  while  a 
splinter  of  this  wood  remains,  husbands  will  recount  to  their 
wives  thy  exemplary  conduct." 

In  a  few  days  afterwards,  the  Princess  also  arrived  in  safety, 
and  was  received  by  the  Count  in  full  gala.  Ottilia  came  to  meet 
her  with  open  arms  and  heart,  and  conducted  her  into  the  Palace, 
as  the  partner  in  all  its  privileges.  The  double  bridegroom  then 
set  out  to  Erfurt,  for  the  Bishop  to  perform  the  marriage  ceremony. 
This  pious  prelate  was  extremely  shocked  at  the  proposal,  and 
signified,  that  in  his  diocese  no  such  scandal  could  be  tolerated. 
But,  on  Count  Ernst's  bringing  out  the  papal  dispensation,  signed 
and  sealed  in  due  form,  it  acted  as  a  lock  on  his  Reverence's 
lips ;  though  his  doubting  looks,  and  shaking  of  the  head,  still 
indicated  that  the  Steersman  of  the  bark  of  the  universal  Church 
had  bored  a  hole  in  the  keel,  which  bade  fair  to  swamp  the  vessel, 
and  send  it  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

The  nuptials  were  celebrated  with  becoming  pomp  and  splen- 


152 


MUSiEUS. 


dour;  Countess  Ottilia,  who  acted  as  mistress  of  the  ceremonies, 
had  invited  widely;  and  the  counts  and  knights,  over  all  Thu- 
ringia,  far  and  wide,  came  crowding  to  assist  at  this  unusual 
wedding.  Before  the  Count  led  his  bride  to  the  altar,  she  opened 
her  jewel-box,  and  consigned  to  him  all  its  treasures  that  remained 
from  the  expenses  of  the  dispensation,  as  a  dowry;  in  return  for 
which,  he  conferred  on  her  the  lands  of  Ehrenstein,  by  way  of 
jointure.  The  chaste  myrtle  twined  itself  about  the  golden  crown, 
which  latter  ornament  the  Sultan's  daughter,  as  a  testimony  of 
her  high  birth,  retained  through  life ;  and  was,  in  consequence, 
invariably  named  the  Queen  by  her  subjects,  and  by  her  domes- 
tics reverenced  and  treated  like  a  queen. 

If  any  of  my  readers  ever  purchased  for  himself,  for  fifty 
guineas,  the  costly  pleasure  of  resting  a  night  in  Doctor  Graham's 
Celestial  Bed  at  London,  he  may  form  some  slender  conception 
of  the  Count's  delight,  when  the  triple  bed  at  Gleichen  opened 
its  elastic  bosom  to  receive  the  twice -betrothed,  with  both  his 
spouses.  Seven  days  long  the  nuptial  festivities  continued ;  and 
the  Count  declared  himself  richly  compensated  by  them  for  the 
seven  dreary  years  which  he  had  been  obliged  to  spend  in  the 
Grated  Tower  at  Grand  Cairo.  Nor  would  this  appear  to  have 
been  an  empty  compliment  on  his  part  to  his  two  faithful  wives, 
if  the  experimental  apophthegm  is  just,  that  a  single  day  of 
gladness  sweetens  into  oblivion  the  bitter  dole  and  sorrow  of  a 
troublous  year. 

Next  to  the  Count,  there  was  none  who  relished  this  exhila- 
rating period  better  than  his  trusty  Squire,  the  mettled  Kurt, 
who,  in  the  well- stored  kitchen  and  cellar,  found  the  elements  of 
royal  cheer,  and  stoutly  emptied  the  cup  of  joy  which  circulated 
fast  among  the  servants ;  while  the  full  table  pricked  up  their 
ears  as  he  opened  his  lips,  his  inner  man  once  satisfied  with  good 
things,  and  began  to  recount  them  his  adventures.  But  when  the 
Gleichic  economy  returned  to  its  customary  frugal  routine,  he 
requested  permission  to  set  out  for  Ordruff,  to  visit  his  kind  wife, 
and  overwhelm  her  with  joy  at  his  unexpected  return.  During 
his  long  absence,  he  had  constantly  maintained  a  rigorous  fidelity, 
and  he  now  longed  for  the  just  reward  of  so  exemplary  a  walk  and 
conversation.  Fancy  painted  to  his  mind's  eye  the  image  of  his 
virtuous  Bebecca  in  the  liveliest  colours ;  and  the  nearer  he 
approached  the  walls  which  enclosed  her,  the  brighter  grew  these 
hues.    Ho  saw  her  stand  before  him  in  the  charms  which  had 


MELECHSALA. 


153 


delighted  him  on  his  wedding-day ;  he  saw  how  excess  of  joy  at 
his  happy  arrival  would  overpower  her  spirits,  and  she  would 
sink  in  speechless  rapture  into  his  arms. 

Encircled  with  this  fair  retinue  of  dreams,  he  arrived  at  the 
gate  of  his  native  town,  without  observing  it,  till  the  watchful 
guardian  of  public  tranquillity  let  down  his  beam  in  front  of  him, 
and  questioned  the  stranger,  Who  he  was,  what  business  had 
brought  him  to  the  town,  and  whether  his  intentions  were  peace- 
able or  not  ?  The  mettled  Kurt  gave  ready  answer ;  and  now 
rode  along  the  streets  at  a  soft  pace,  lest  his  horse's  tramp  might 
too  soon  betray  the  secret  of  his  coming.  He  fastened  his  beast 
to  the  door-ring,  and  stole,  without  noise,  into  the  court  of  his 
dwelling,  where  the  old  chained  house-dog  first  received  him  with 
joyful  bark.  Yet  he  wondered  somewhat  at  the  sight  of  two 
lively  chub-faced  children,  like  the  Angels  in  the  Gleichen  bed- 
tester,  frisking  to  and  fro  upon  the  area.  He  had  no  time  to 
speculate  on  the  phenomenon,  for  the  mistress  of  the  house,  in 
her  carefulness,  stept  out  of  doors  to  see  who  was  there.  Alas, 
what  a  difference  between  ideal  and  original !  The  tooth  of  Time 
had,  in  these  seven  years,  been  mercilessly  busy  with  her  charms ; 
yet  the  leading  features  of  her  physiognomy  had  been  in  so  far 
spared,  that  to  the  eye  of  the  critic  she  was  still  recognisable, 
like  the  primary  stamp  of  a  worn  coin.  Joy  at  meeting  somewhat 
veiled  this  want  of  beauty  from  the  mettled  Kurt,  and  the  thought 
that  sorrow  for  his  absence  had  so  furrowed  the  smooth  face  of 
his  consort  put  him  into  a  sentimental  mood ;  he  embraced  her 
with  great  cordiality,  and  said :  "  Welcome,  dear  wife  of  my 
heart !  Forget  all  thy  sorrow.  See,  I  am  still  alive  ;  thou  hast 
got  me  back !" 

The  pious  Rebecca  answered  this  piece  of  tenderness  by  a 
heavy  thwack  on  the  short  ribs,  which  thwack  made  the  mettled 
Kurt  stagger  to  the  wall ;  then  raised  loud  shrieks,  and  shouted 
to  her  servants  for  help  against  violence,  and  scolded  and  stormed 
like  an  Infernal  Fury.  The  loving  husband  excused  this  unloving 
reception,  on  the  score  of  his  virtuous  spouse's  delicacy,  which  his 
bold  kiss  of  welcome  had  offended,  she  not  knowing  who  he  was ; 
and  tore  his  lungs  with  bawling  to  undo  this  error;  but  his  preach- 
ing was  to  deaf  ears,  and  he  soon  found  that  there  was  no  misun- 
derstanding in  the  case.  "  Thou  shameless  varlet,"  cried  she,  in 
shrieking  treble,  "  after  wandering  seven  long  years  up  and  down 
the  world,  following  thy  wicked  courses  with  other  women,  dost 


154 


MUS^EUS. 


thou  think  that  I  will  take  thee  back  to  my  chaste  bed  ?  Off  with 
thee  !  Did  not  I  publicly  cite  thee  at  three  church-doors,  and 
wert  not  thou,  for  thy  contumacious  non-appearance,  declared  to 
be  dead  as  mutton  ?  Did  not  the  High  Court  authorise  me  to  put 
aside  my  widow's  chair,  and  marry  Burgermeister  Wipprecht  ? 
Have  not  we  lived  six  years  as  man  and  wife,  and  received  these 
children  as  a  blessing  of  our  wedlock  ?  And  now  comes  the  Mar- 
peace  to  perplex  my  house  !  Off  with  thee  !  Pack,  I  say,  this 
instant,  or  the  Amtmann  shall  crop  thy  ears,  and  put  thee  in  the 
pillory,  to  teach  such  vagabonds,  that  run  and  leave  their  poor 
tender  wives."  This  welcome  from  his  once-loved  helpmate  was 
a  sword's-thrust  through  the  heart  of  the  mettled  Kurt ;  but  the 
gall  poured  itself  as  a  defence  into  his  blood. 

"  0  thou  faithless  strumpet!"  answered  he;  "  what  holds  me 
that  I  do  not  take  thee  and  thy  bastards,  and  wring  your  necks 
this  moment  ?  Dost  thou  recollect  thy  promise,  and  the  oath  thou 
hast  so  often  sworn  in  the  trustful  marriage-bed,  that  death  itself 
should  not  part  thee  from  me?  Didst  thou  not  engage,  unasked, 
that  should  thy  soul  fly  up  directly  from  thy  mouth  to  Heaven, 
and  I  were  roasting  in  Purgatory,  thou  wouldst  turn  again  from 
Heaven's  gate,  and  come  down  to  me,  to  fan  cool  air  upon  me  till 
I  were  delivered  from  the  flames  ?  Devil  broil  thy  false  tongue, 
thou  gallows  carrion !" 

Though  the  Prima  Donna  of  Ordruff  was  endowed  with  a  glib 
organ,  which,  in  the  faculty  of  cursing,  yielded  no  whit  to  that  of 
the  tumultuous  pretender,  she  did  not  judge  it  good  to  enter  into 
farther  debate  with  him,  but  gave  her  menials  an  expressive  sign; 
and,  in  an  instant,  man  and  maid  seized  hold  of  the  mettled  Kurt, 
and  brevi  manu  ejected  his  body  from  the  house ;  in  which  act  of 
domestic  jurisdiction  Dame  Eebecca  herself  bore  a  hand  with  the 
besom,  and  so  swept  away  this  discarded  helpmate  from  the  pre- 
mises. The  mettled  Kurt,  half-broken  on  the  wheel,  then  mounted 
his  horse,  and  dashed  full  gallop  down  the  street,  which  he  had 
rode  along  so  gingerly  some  minutes  before. 

As  his  blood,  when  he  was  on  the  road  home,  began  to  cool, 
he  counted  loss  and  gain,  and  found  himself  not  ill  contented  with 
the  balance ;  for  he  found,  that  except  the  comfort  of  having  cool 
air  fanned  upon  his  soul  in  Purgatory  after  death,  his  smart 
amounted  to  nothing.  He  never  more  returned  to  Ordruff,  but 
continued  with  the  Count  at  Gleichen  all  his  life,  and  was  an  eye- 
witness of  the  most  incredible  occurrence,  that  two  ladies  shared 


MELECHSALA. 


155 


the  love  of  one  man  without  quarrelling  or  jealousy,  and  this  even 
under  one  bed-tester  !  The  fair  Angelica  continued  childless,  yet 
she  loved  and  watched  over  her  associate's  children  as  if  they  had 
been  her  own,  and  divided  with  Ottilia  the  care  of  their  education. 
In  the  trefoil  of  this  happy  marriage,  she  was  the  first  leaf  which 
faded  away  in  the  autumn  of  life.  Countess  Ottilia  soon  followed 
her;  and  the  afflicted  widower,  now  all  too  lonely  in  his  large  castle 
and  wide  bed,  lingered  but  a  few  months  longer.  The  firmly- 
established  arrangement  of  these  noble  spouses  in  the  marriage- 
bed  through  life,  was  maintained  unaltered  after  their  death.  They 
rest  all  three  in  one  grave,  in  front  of  the  Gleichen  Altar,  in  St. 
Peter's  Church  at  Erfurt,  on  the  Hill;  where  their  place  of  sepul- 
ture is  still  to  be  seen,  overlaid  with  a  stone,  on  which  the  noble 
group  are  sculptured  after  the  life.  To  the  right  lies  the  Countess 
Ottilia,  with  a  mirror  in  her  hand,  the  emblem  of  her  praiseworthy 
prudence ;  on  the  left  Angelica,  adorned  with  a  royal  crown ;  and 
in  the  midst,  the  Count  reposing  on  his  coat-of-arms,  the  lion- 
leopard.11  Their  famous  triple  bedstead  is  still  preserved  as  a 
relic  in  the  old  Castle ;  it  stands  in  the  room  called  the  Junkern- 
kammer,  or  Knight's  Chamber ;  and  a  splinter  of  it,  worn  by  way 
of  busk  in  a  lady's  bodice,  is  said  to  have  the  virtue  of  dispelling 
every  movement  of  jealousy  from  her  heart. 

11  A  plate  of  this  tombstone  may  be  seen  in  Falkenstein's  Analecta  Nord- 
gaviensia. — M. 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


THE  FAIR-HAIRED  ECKBERT.1 


In  a  district  of  the  Harz  dwelt  a  Knight,  whose  common  desig- 
nation in  that  quarter  was  the  Fair-haired  Eckhert.  He  was  ahout 
forty  years  of  age,  scarcely  of  middle  stature,  and  short  light- 
coloured  locks  lay  close  and  sleek  round  his  pale  and  sunken 
countenance.  He  led  a  retired  life,  had  never  interfered  in  the 
feuds  of  his  neighbours ;  indeed,  beyond  the  outer  wall  of  his 
castle  he  was  seldom  to  be  seen.  His  wife  loved  solitude  as  much 
as  he  ;  both  seemed  heartily  attached  to  one  another ;  only  now 
and  then  they  would  lament  that  Heaven  had  not  blessed  their 
marriage  with  children. 

Few  came  to  visit  Eckbert ;  and  when  guests  did  happen  to 
be  with  him,  their  presence  made  but  little  alteration  in  his  cus- 
tomary way  of  life.  Temperance  abode  in  his  household,  and 
Frugality  herself  appeared  to  be  the  mistress  of  the  entertain- 
ment. On  these  occasions  Eckbert  was  always  cheerful  and 
lively ;  but  when  he  was  alone,  you  might  observe  in  him  a  cer- 
tain mild  reserve,  a  still,  retiring  melancholy. 

His  most  frequent  guest  was  Philip  Walther;  a  man  to  whom 
he  had  attached  himself,  from  having  found  in  him  a  way  oi 
thinking  like  his  own.  Walther' s  residence  was  in  Franconia ; 
but  he  would  often  stay  for  half  a  year  in  Eckbert's  neighbour- 
hood, gathering  plants  and  minerals,  and  then  sorting  and  ar- 
ranging them.  He  lived  on  a  small  independency,  and  was 
connected  with  no  one.  Eckbert  frequently  attended  him  in  his 
sequestered  walks ;  year  after  year  a  closer  friendship  grew  be- 
twixt them. 

1  Prefatory  Introduction  to  Tieck,  supra,  at  p.  330,  Vol.  VI.  of  Works  (Vol,  I. 
of  Miscellanies). 


160 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


There  are  hours  in  which  a  man  feels  grieved  that  he  should 
have  a  secret  from  his  friend,  which,  till  then,  he  may  have  kept 
with  niggard  anxiety ;  some  irresistible  desire  lays  hold  of  our 
heart  to  open  itself  wholly,  to  disclose  its  inmost  recesses  to  our 
friend,  that  so  he  may  become  our  friend  still  more.  It  is  in  such 
moments  that  tender  souls  unveil  themselves,  and  stand  face  to 
face ;  and  at  times  it  will  happen,  that  the  one  recoils  affrighted 
from  the  countenance  of  the  other. 

It  was  late  in  Autumn,  when  Eckbert,  one  cloudy  evening, 
was  sitting,  with  his  friend  and  his  wife  Bertha,  by  the  parlour 
fire.  The  flame  cast  a  red  glimmer  through  the  room,  and 
sported  on  the  ceiling ;  the  night  looked  sullenly  in  through  the 
windows,  and  the  trees  without  rustled  in  wet  coldness.  Walther 
complained  of  the  long  road  he  had  to  travel ;  and  Eckbert  pro- 
posed to  him  to  stay  where  he  was,  to  while  away  half  of  the 
night  in  friendly  talk,  and  then  to  take  a  bed  in  the  house  till 
morning.  Walther  agreed,  and  the  whole  was  speedily  arranged : 
by  and  by  wine  and  supper  were  brought  in ;  fresh  wood  was  laid 
upon  the  fire ;  the  talk  grew  livelier  and  more  confidential. 

The  cloth  being  removed,  and  the  servants  gone,  Eckbert  took 
his  friend's  hand,  and  said  to  him  :  ' '  Now  you  must  let  my  wife 
tell  you  the  history  of  her  youth ;  it  is  curious  enough,  and  you 
should  know  it."  "  With  all  my  heart,"  said  Walther;  and  the 
party  again  drew  round  the  hearth. 

It  was  now  midnight ;  the  moon  looked  fitfully  through  the 
breaks  of  the  driving  clouds.  "  You  must  not  reckon  me  a  bab- 
bler," began  the  lady.  "  My  husband  says  you  have  so  generous 
a  mind,  that  it  is  not  right  in  us  to  hide  aught  from  you.  Only 
do  not  take  my  narrative  for  a  fable,  however  strangely  it  may 
sound. 

"  I  was  born  in  a  little  village ;  my  father  was  a  poor  herds- 
man. Our  circumstances  were  not  of  the  best ;  often  we  knew 
not  where  to  find  our  daily  bread.  But  what  grieved  me  far  more 
than  this,  were  the  quarrels  which  my  father  and  mother  often 
had  about  their  poverty,  and  the  bitter  reproaches  they  cast  on 
one  another.  Of  myself  too,  I  heard  nothing  said  but  ill ;  they 
were  forever  telling  me  that  I  was  a  silly  stupid  child,  that  I 
could  not  do  the  simplest  turn  of  work ;  and  in  truth  I  was  ex- 
tremely inexpert  and  helpless;  I  let  things  fall;  I  neither  learned 
to  sew  nor  spin  ;  I  could  be  of  no  use  to  my  parents  ;  only  their 
straits  I  understood  too  well.   Often  I  would  sit  in  a  corner,  and 


THE  FAIR -HAIRED  ECKBERT. 


161 


fill  my  little  heart  with  dreams,  how  I  would  help  them,  if  I  should 
all  at  once  grow  rich ;  how  I  would  overflow  them  with  silver 
and  gold,  and  feast  myself  on  their  amazement ;  and  then  spirits 
came  hovering  up,  and  showed  me  buried  treasures,  or  gave  me 
little  pebbles  which  changed  into  precious  stones ;  in  short,  the 
strangest  fancies  occupied  me,  and  when  I  had  to  rise  and  help 
with  anything,  my  inexpertness  was  still  greater,  as  my  head 
was  giddy  with  these  motley  visions. 

4  £  My  father  in  particular  was  always  very  cross  to  me ;  he 
scolded  me  for  being  such  a  burden  to  the  house ;  indeed  he 
often  used  me  rather  cruelly,  and  it  was  very  seldom  that  I  got  a 
friendly  word  from  him.  In  this  way  I  had  struggled  on  to  near 
the  end  of  my  eighth  year ;  and  now  it  was  seriously  fixed  that 
I  should  begin  to  do  or  learn  something.  My  father  still  main- 
tained that  it  was  nothing  but  caprice  in  me,  or  a  lazy  wish  to 
pass  my  days  in  idleness :  accordingly  he  set  upon  me  with  furious 
threats ;  and  as  these  made  no  improvement,  he  one  day  gave  me 
a  most  cruel  chastisement,  and  added  that  the  same  should  be  re- 
peated day  after  day,  since  I  was  nothing  but  a  useless  sluggard. 

"  That  whole  night  I  wept  abundantly ;  I  felt  myself  so 
utterly  forsaken,  I  had  such  a  sympathy  with  myself  that  I  even 
longed  to  die.  I  dreaded  the  break  of  day ;  I  knew  not  on  earth 
what  I  was  to  do  or  try.  I  wished  from  my  very  heart  to  be 
clever,  and  could  not  understand  how  I  should  be  worse  than  the 
other  children  of  the  place.    I  was  on  the  borders  of  despair. 

"  At  the  dawn  of  day  I  arose,  and  scarcely  knowing  what  I 
did,  unfastened  the  door  of  our  little  hut.  I  stept  upon  the  open 
field ;  next  minute  I  was  in  a  wood,  where  the  light  of  the  morn- 
ing had  yet  hardly  penetrated.  I  ran  along,  not  looking  round ; 
for  I  felt  no  fatigue,  and  I  still  thought  my  father  would  catch  me, 
and  in  his  anger  at  my  flight  would  beat  me  worse  than  ever. 

"  I  had  reached  the  other  side  of  the  forest,  and  the  sun  was 
risen  a  considerable  way  ;  I  saw  something  dim  lying  before  me, 
and  a  thick  fog  resting  over  it.  Ere  long  my  path  began  to  mount, 
at  one  time  I  was  climbing  hills,  at  another  winding  among  rocks ; 
and  I  now  guessed  that  I  must  be  among  the  neighbouring  Moun- 
tains ;  a  thought  that  made  me  shudder  in  my  loneliness.  For, 
living  in  the  plain  country,  I  had  never  seen  a  hill ;  and  the  very 
word  Mountains,  when  I  heard  talk  of  them,  had  been  a  sound 
of  terror  to  my  young  ear.  I  had  not  the  heart  to  go  back,  my 
fear  itself  drove  me  on  j  often  I  looked  round  affrighted  when  the 

VOL.  III.  M 


162 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


breezes  rustled  over  me  among  the  trees,  or  the  stroke  of  some 
distant  woodman  sounded  far  through  the  still  morning.  And 
when  I  began  to  meet  with  charcoal-men  and  miners,  and  heard 
their  foreign  way  of  speech,  I  had  nearly  fainted  for  terror. 

' '  I  passed  through  several  villages ;  begging  now  and  then,  for 
I  felt  hungry  and  thirsty ;  and  fashioning  my  answers  as  I  best 
could  when  questions  were  put  to  me.  In  this  manner  I  had 
wandered  on  some  four  days,  when  I  came  upon  a  little  footpath, 
which  led  me  farther  and  farther  from  the  highway.  The  rocks 
about  me  now  assumed  a  different  and  far  stranger  form.  They 
were  cliffs  so  piled  on  one  another,  that  it  looked  as  if  the  first 
gust  of  wind  would  hurl  them  all  this  way  and  that.  I  knew  not 
whether  to  go  on  or  stop.  Till  now  I  had  slept  by  night  in  the 
woods,  for  it  was  the  finest  season  of  the  year,  or  in  some  remote 
shepherd's  hut ;  but  here  I  saw  no  human  dwelling  at  all,  and 
could  not  hope  to  find  one  in  this  wilderness  ;  the  crags  grew 
more  and  more  frightful ;  I  had  many  a  time  to  glide  along  by 
the  very  edge  of  dreadful  abysses  ;  by  degrees  my  footpath  be- 
came fainter,  and  at  last  all  traces  of  it  vanished  from  beneath  me. 
I  was  utterly  comfortless  ;  I  wept  and  screamed  ;  and  my  voice 
came  echoing  back  from  the  rocky  valleys  with  a  sound  that  ter- 
rified me.  The  night  now  came  on,  and  I  sought  out  a  mossy 
nook  to  lie  down  in.  I  could  not  sleep  ;  in  the  darkness  I  heard 
the  strangest  noises  ;  sometimes  I  took  them  to  proceed  from 
wild-beasts,  sometimes  from  wind  moaning  through  the  rocks, 
sometimes  from  unknown  birds.  I  prayed ;  and  did  not  sleep 
till  towards  morning. 

"  When  the  light  came  upon  my  face,  I  awoke.  Before  me 
was  a  steep  rock ;  I  clomb  up,  in  the  hope  of  discovering  some 
outlet  from  the  waste,  perhaps  of  seeing  houses  or  men.  But 
when  I  reached  the  top,  there  was  nothing  still,  so  far  as  my  eye 
could  reach,  but  a  wilderness  of  crags  and  precipices ;  all  was 
covered  with  a  dim  haze ;  the  day  was  gray  and  troubled,  and  no 
tree,  no  meadow,  not  even  a  bush  could  I  find,  only  a  few  shrubs 
shooting  up  stunted  and  solitary  in  the  narrow  clefts  of  the  rocks. 
I  cannot  utter  what  a  longing  I  felt  but  to  see  one  human  crea- 
ture, any  living  mortal,  even  though  I  had  been  afraid  of  hurt 
from  him.  At  the  same  time  I  was  tortured  by  a  gnawing  hun- 
ger ;  I  sat  down,  and  made  up  my  mind  to  die.  After  a  while, 
however,  the  desire  of  living  gained  the  mastery  ;  I  roused  my* 
self,  and  wandered  forward  amid  tears  and  broken  sobs  all  day  ; 


THE  FAIR-HATRED  ECXBERT. 


168 


in  the  end,  I  hardly  knew  what  I  was  doing  ;  I  was  tired  and 
spent ;  I  scarcely  wished  to  live,  and  yet  I  feared  to  die. 

"Towards  night  the  country  seemed  to  grow  a  little  kindlier; 
my  thoughts,  my  desires  revived,  the  wish  for  life  awoke  in  all 
my  veins.  I  thought  I  heard  the  rushing  of  a  mill  afar  off;  I  re- 
doubled my  steps  ;  and  how  glad,  how  light  of  heart  was  I,  when 
at  last  I  actually  gained  the  limits  of  the  barren  rocks,  and  saw 
woods  and  meadows  lying  before  me,  with  soft  green  hills  in  the 
distance  !  I  felt  as  if  I  had  stept  out  of  hell  into  a  paradise  ;  my 
loneliness  and  helplessness  no  longer  frightened  me. 

"  Instead  of  the  hoped-for  mill,  I  came  upon  a  waterfall,  which, 
m  truth,  considerably  damped  my  joy.  I  was  lifting  a  drink  from 
it  in  the  hollow  of  my  hand,  when  all  at  once  I  thought  I  heard  a 
slight  cough  some  little  way  from  me.  Never  in  my  life  was  I  so 
joyfully  surprised  as  at  this  moment  :  I  went  near,  and  at  the 
border  of  the  wood  I  saw  an  old  woman  sitting  resting  on  the 
ground.  She  was  dressed  almost  wholly  in  black  ;  a  black  hood 
'  covered  her  head,  and  the  greater  part  of  her  face  ;  in  her  hand 
she  held  a  crutch. 

"I  came  up  to  her,  and  begged  for  help;  she  made  me  sit 
by  her,  and  gave  me  bread,  and  a  little  wine.  While  I  ate,  she 
sang  in  a  screeching  tone  some  kind  of  spiritual  song.  When  she 
had  done,  she  told  me  I  might  follow  her. 

"The  offer  charmed  me,  strange  as  the  old  woman's  voice 
and  look  appeared.  With  her  crutch  she  limped  away  pretty  fast, 
and  at  every  step  she  twisted  her  face  so  oddly,  that  at  first  I  was 
like  to  laugh.  The  wild  rocks  retired  behind  us  more  and  more  : 
I  never  shall  forget  the  aspect  and  the  feeling  of  that  evening. 
All  things  were  as  molten  into  the  softest  golden  red ;  the  trees 
were  standing  with  then  tops  in  the  glow  of  the  sunset ;  on  the 
fields  lay  a  mild  brightness ;  the  woods  and  the  leaves  of  the  trees 
were  standing  motionless  ;  the  pure  sky  looked  out  like  an  opened 
paradise,  and  the  gushing  of  the  brooks,  and,  from  time  to  time, 
the  rustling  of  the  trees,  resounded  through  the  serene  stillness, 
as  in  pensive  joy.  My  young  soul  was  here  first  taken  with  a 
forethought  of  the  world  and  its  vicissitudes.  I  forgot  myself  and 
my  conductress ;  my  spirit  and  my  eyes  were  wandering  among 
the  shining  clouds. 

"  We  now  mounted  an  eminence  planted  with  birch-trees ; 
from  the  top  we  looked  into  a  green  valley,  likewise  full  of  birches  ; 
and  down  below,  in  the  middle  of  them,  was  a  little  hut.  A  glad 


164 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


barking  reached  us,  and  immediately  a  little  nimble  dog  came 
springing  round  the  old  woman,  fawned  on  her,  and  wagged  its 
tail ;  it  next  came  to  me,  viewed  me  on  all  sides,  and  then  turned 
back  with  a  friendly  look  to  its  old  mistress. 

* i  On  reaching  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  I  heard  the  strangest 
song,  as  if  coming  from  the  hut,  and  sung  by  some  bird.  It  ran 
thus : 

Alone  in  wood  so  gay 
"lis  good  to  stay, 
Morrow  like  today, 
Forever  and  aye  : 
0,  I  do  love  to  stay 
Alone  in  wood  so  gay. 

"  These  few  words  were  continually  repeated,  and  to  describe 
the  sound,  it  was  as  if  you  heard  forest-horns  and  shalms  sounded 
together  from  a  far  distance. 

"  My  curiosity  was  wonderfully  on  the  stretch  ;  without  wait- 
ing for  the  old  woman's  orders,  I  stept  into  the  hut.  It  was  al- 
ready dusk ;  here  all  was  neatly  swept  and  trimmed  ;  some  bowls 
were  standing  in  a  cupboard,  some  strange-looking  casks  or  pots 
m  a  table ;  in  a  glittering  cage,  hanging  by  the  window,  was  a 
bird,  and  this  in  fact  proved  to  be  the  singer.  The  old  woman 
coughed  and  panted :  it  seemed  as  if  she  never  would  get  over 
her  fatigue  :  she  patted  the  little  dog,  she  talked  with  the  bird, 
which  only  answered  her  with  its  accustomed  song ;  and  for  me, 
she  did  not  seem  to  recollect  that  I  was  there  at  all.  Looking  at 
her  so,  many  qualms  and  fears  came  over  me ;  for  her  face  was 
in  perpetual  motion ;  and,  besides,  her  head  shook  from  old  age, 
so  that,  for  my  life,  I  could  not  understand  what  sort  of  counte- 
nance she  had. 

"Having  gathered  strength  again,  she  lit  a  candle,  covered 
a  very  small  table,  and  brought  out  supper.  She  now  looked 
round  for  me,  and  bade  me  take  a  little  cane-chair.  I  was  thus 
sitting  close  fronting  her,  with  the  light  between  us.  She  folded 
her  bony  hands,  and  prayed  aloud,  still  twisting  her  countenance, 
so  that  I  was  once  more  on  the  point  of  laughing ;  but  I  took 
strict  care  that  I  might  not  make  her  angry. 

"  After  supper  she  again  prayed,  then  showed  me  a  bed  in  a 
low  narrow  closet ;  she  herself  slept  in  the  room.  I  did  not  watch 
long,  for  I  was  half  stupefied  ;  but  in  the  night  I  now  and  then 
awoke,  and  heard  the  old  woman  coughing,  and  between  whiles 


THE  FAIR -HAIRED  ECKBERT. 


1G5 


talking  with  her  dog  and  her  bird,  which  last  seemed  dreaming, 
and  replied  with  only  one  or  two  words  of  its  rhyme.  This,  with 
the  birches  rustling  before  the  window,  and  the  song  of  a  distant 
nightingale,  made  such  a  wondrous  combination,  that  I  never 
fairly  thought  I  was  awake,  but  only  falling  out  of  one  dream  into 
another  still  stranger. 

"  The  old  woman  awoke  me  in  the  morning,  and  soon  after 
gave  me  work.  I  was  put  to  spin,  which  I  now  learned  very 
easily ;  I  had  likewise  to  take  charge  of  the  dog  and  the  bird. 
I  soon  learned  my  business  in  the  house  :  I  now  felt  as  if  it  all 
must  be  so ;  I  never  once  remembered  that  the  old  woman  had 
so  many  singularities,  that  her  dwelling  was  mysterious,  and  lay 
apart  from  all  men,  and  that  the  bird  must  be  a  very  strange  crea- 
ture. Its  beauty,  indeed,  always  struck  me,  for  its  feathers  glit- 
tered with  all  possible  colours;  the  fairest  deep  blue,  and  the 
most  burning  red,  alternated  about  his  neck  and  body ;  and  when 
singing,  he  blew  himself  proudly  out,  so  that  his  feathers  looked 
still  finer. 

"  My  old  mistress  often  went  abroad,  and  did  not  come  again 
till  night ;  on  these  occasions  I  went  out  to  meet  her  with  the 
dog,  and  she  used  to  call  me  child  and  daughter.  In  the  end  I 
grew  to  like  her  heartily ;  as  our  mind,  especially  in  childhood, 
will  become  accustomed  and  attached  to  anything.  In  the  even- 
ings, she  taught  me  to  read ;  and  this  was  afterwards  a  source  of 
boundless  satisfaction  to  me  in  my  solitude,  for  she  had  several 
ancient-written  books,  that  contained  the  strangest  stories. 

' '  The  recollection  of  the  life  I  then  led  is  still  singular  to  me : 
Visited  by  no  human  creature,  secluded  in  the  circle  of  so  small  a 
family  ;  for  the  dog  and  the  bird  made  the  same  impression  on  me 
which  in  other  cases  long-known  friends  produce.  I  am  surprised 
that  I  have  never  since  been  able  to  recall  the  dog's  name,  a  very 
odd  one,  often  as  I  then  pronounced  it. 

"  Four  years  I  had  passed  in  this  way  (I  must  now  have  been 
nearly  twelve),  when  my  old  dame  began  to  put  more  trust  in  me, 
and  at  length  told  me  a  secret.  The  bird,  I  found,  laid  every  day 
an  egg,  in  which  there  was  a  pearl  or  a  jewel.  I  had  already 
noticed  that  she  often  went  to  fettle  privately  about  the  cage,  but 
I  had  never  troubled  myself  farther  on  the  subject.  She  now  gave 
me  charge  of  gathering  these  eggs  in  her  absence,  and  carefully 
storing  them  up  in  the  strange -looking  pots.  She  would  leave 
me  food,  and  sometimes  stay  away  longer,  for  weeks,  for  months. 


166 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


My  little  wheel  kept  humming  round,  the  dog  barked,  the  bird 
sang ;  and  withal  there  was  such  a  stillness  in  the  neighbourhood, 
that  I  do  not  recollect  of  any  storm  or  foul  weather  all  the  time  I 
stayed  there.  No  one  wandered  thither ;  no  wild-beast  came  near 
our  dwelling  :  I  was  satisfied,  and  worked  along  in  peace  from  day 
to  day.  One  would  perhaps  be  very  happy,  could  he  pass  his  life 
so  undisturbedly  to  the  end. 

"  From  the  little  that  I  read,  I  formed  quite  marvellous  notions 
of  the  world  and  its  people  ;  all  taken  from  myself  and  my  society. 
When  I  read  of  witty  persons,  I  could  not  figure  them  but  like  the 
little  shock ;  great  ladies,  I  conceived,  were  like  the  bird ;  all  old 
women  like  my  mistress.  I  had  read  somewhat  of  love,  too  ;  and 
often,  in  fancy,  I  would  sport  strange  stories  with  myself.  I  figured 
out  the  fairest  knight  on  Earth  ;  adorned  him  with  all  perfections, 
without  knowing  rightly,  after  all  my  labour,  how  he  looked :  but 
I  could  feel  a  hearty  pity  for  myself  when  he  ceased  to  love  me ; 
I  would  then,  in  thought,  make  long  melting  speeches,  or  perhaps 
aloud,  to  try  if  I  could  win  him  back.  You  smile  !  These  young 
days  are,  in  truth,  far  away  from  us  all. 

"  I  now  liked  better  to  be  left  alone,  for  I  was  then  sole  mis- 
tress of  the  house.  The  dog  loved  me,  and  did  all  I  wanted ;  the 
bird  replied  to  all  my  questions  with  his  rhyme ;  my  wheel  kept 
briskly  turning,  and  at  bottom  I  had  never  any  wish  for  change. 
When  my  dame  returned  from  her  long  wanderings,  she  would 
praise  my  diligence ;  she  said  her  house,  since  I  belonged  to  it, 
was  managed  far  more  perfectly  ;  she  took  a  pleasure  in  my  growth 
and  healthy  looks ;  in  short,  she  treated  me  in  all  points  like  her 
daughter. 

"  '  Thou  art  a  good  girl,  child,'  said  she  once  to  me,  in  her 
creaking  tone  ;  1  if  thou  continuest  so,  it  will  be  well  with  thee  : 
but  none  ever  prospers  when  he  leaves  the  straight  path  ;  punish- 
ment will  overtake  him,  though  it  may  be  late.'  I  gave  little  heed 
to  this  remark  of  hers  at  the  time,  for  in  all  my  temper  and  move- 
ments  I  was  very  lively;  but  by  night  it  occurred  to  me  again, 
and  I  could  not  understand  what  she  meant  by  it.  I  considered 
all  the  words  attentively  ;  I  had  read  of  riches,  and  at  last  it  struck 
me  that  her  pearls  and  jewels  might  perhaps  be  something  preci- 
ous. Ere  long  this  thought  grew  clearer  to  me.  But  the  straight 
path,  and  leaving  it  ?   What  could  she  mean  by  this  ? 

"  I  was  now  fourteen  ;  it  is  the  misery  of  man  that  he  arrives 
at  understanding  through  the  loss  of  innocence.    I  now  saw  well 


THE  FAIR-HAIRED  ECKBERT. 


167 


enough  that  it  lay  with  me  to  take  the  jewels  and  the  bird  in  the 
old  woman's  absence,  and  go  forth  with  them  and  see  the  world 
which  I  had  read  of.  Perhaps,  too,  it  would  then  be  possible  that 
I  might  meet  that  fairest  of  all  knights,  who  forever  dwelt  in  my 
memory. 

"  At  first  this  thought  was  nothing  more  than  any  other 
thought ;  but  when  I  used  to  be  sitting  at  my  wheel,  it  still  re- 
turned to  me,  against  my  will ;  and  I  sometimes  followed  it  so  far, 
that  I  already  saw  myself  adorned  in  splendid  attire,  with  princes 
and  knights  around  me.  On  awakening  from  these  dreams,  I 
would  feel  a  sadness  when  I  looked  up,  and  found  myself  still 
in  the  little  cottage.  For  the  rest,  if  I  went  through  my  duties, 
the  old  woman  troubled  herself  little  about  what  I  thought  or 
felt. 

' '  One  day  she  went  out  again,  telling  me  that  she  should  be 
away  on  this  occasion  longer  than  usual ;  that  I  must  take  strict 
charge  of  everything,  and  not  let  the  time  hang  heavy  on  my 
hands.  I  had  a  sort  of  fear  on  taking  leave  of  her,  for  I  felt  as  if 
I  should  not  see  her  any  more.  I  looked  long  after  her,  and  knew 
not  why  I  felt  so  sad ;  it  was  almost  as  if  my  purpose  had  already 
stood  before  me,  without  myself  being  conscious  of  it. 

* '  Never  did  I  tend  the  dog  and  the  bird  with  such  diligence 
as  now ;  they  were  nearer  to  my  heart  than  formerly.  The  old 
woman  had  been  gone  some  days,  when  I  rose  one  morning  in 
the  firm  mind  to  leave  the  cottage,  and  set  out  with  the  bird  to 
see  this  world  they  talked  so  much  of.  I  felt  pressed  and  ham- 
pered in  my  heart ;  I  wished  to  stay  where  I  was,  and  yet  the 
thought  of  that  afflicted  me ;  there  was  a  strange  contention  in 
my  soul,  as  if  between  two  discordant  spirits.  One  moment  my 
peaceful  solitude  would  seem  to  me  so  beautiful;  the  next  the 
image  of  a  new  world,  with  its  many  wonders,  would  again  en- 
chant me. 

"  I  knew  not  what  to  make  of  it;  the  dog  leaped  up  continually 
about  me ;  the  sunshine  spread  abroad  over  the  fields ;  the  green 
birch-trees  glittered ;  I  always  felt  as  if  I  had  something  I  must 
do  in  haste  ;  so  I  caught  the  little  dog,  tied  him  up  in  the  room, 
and  took  the  cage  with  the  bird  under  my  arm.  The  dog  writhed 
and  whined  at  this  unusual  treatment ;  he  looked  at  me  with 
begging  eyes,  but  I  feared  to  have  him  with  me.  I  also  took  one 
pot  of  jewels,  and  concealed  it  by  me ;  the  rest  I  left. 

"  The  bird  turned  its  head  very  strangely  when  I  crossed  the 


168 


LUDWIG  TIECK, 


threshold ;  the  dog  tugged  at  his  cord  to  follow  me,  but  he  was 
forced  to  stay. 

"  I  did  not  take  the  road  to  the  wild  rocks,  hut  went  in  the 
opposite  direction.  The  dog  stilly  whined  and  barked,  and  it 
touched  me  to  the  heart  to  hear  him ;  the  bird  tried  once  or 
twice  to  sing;  but  as  I  was  carrying  him,  the  shaking  put  him  out. 

"  The  farther  I  went,  the  fainter  grew  the  barking,  and  at 
last  it  altogether  ceased.  I  wept,  and  had  almost  turned  back, 
but  the  longing  to  see  something  new  still  hindered  me. 

"  I  had  got  across  the  hills,  and  through  some  forests,  when 
the  night  came  on,  and  I  was  forced  to  turn  aside  into  a  village. 
I  blushed  exceedingly  on  entering  the  inn ;  they  showed  me  to  a 
room  and  bed ;  I  slept  pretty  quietly,  only  that  I  dreamed  of  the 
old  woman,  and  her  threatening  me. 

"  My  journey  had  not  much  variety  ;  the  farther  I  went,  the 
more  was  I  afflicted  by  the  recollection  of  my  old  mistress  and 
the  little  dog ;  I  considered  that  in  all  likelihood  the  poor  shock 
would  die  of  hunger,  and  often  in  the  woods  I  thought  my  dame 
would  suddenly  meet  me.  Thus  amid  tears  and  sobs  I  went 
along ;  when  I  stopped  to  rest,  and  put  the  cage  on  the  ground, 
the  bird  struck  up  his  song,  and  brought  but  too  keenly  to  my 
mind  the  fair  habitation  I  had  left.  As  human  nature  is  forget- 
ful, I  imagined  that  my  former  journey,  in  my  childhood,  had 
not  been  so  sad  and  woful  as  the  present ;  I  wished  to  be  as  I 
was  then. 

"  I  had  sold  some  jewels;  and  now,  after  wandering  on  for 
several  days,  I  reached  a  village.  At  the  very  entrance  I  was 
struck  with  something  strange  ;  I  felt  terrified  and  knew  not 
why ;  but  I  soon  bethought  myself,  for  it  was  the  village  where 
I  was  born  !  How  amazed  was  I !  How  the  tears  ran  down  my 
cheeks  for  gladness,  for  a  thousand  singular  remembrances  ! 
Many  things  were  changed :  new  houses  had  been  built,  some 
just  raised  when  I  went  away,  were  now  fallen,  and  had  marks 
of  fire  on  them ;  everything  was  far  smaller  and  more  confined 
than  I  had  fancied.  It  rejoiced  my  very  heart  that  I  should  see 
my  parents  once  more  after  such  an  absence.  I  found  their  little 
cottage,  the  well-known  threshold ;  the  door-latch  was  standing 
as  of  old ;  it  seemed  to  me  as  if  I  had  shut  it  only  yesternight. 
My  heart  beat  violently,  I  hastily  lifted  that  latch  ;  but  faces  I 
had  never  seen  before  looked  up  and  gazed  at  me.  I  asked  for 
the  shepherd  Martin ;  they  told  me  that  his  wife  and  he  were 


THE  FAIR-HAIRED  ECKBERT. 


169 


dead  three  years  ago,  I  drew  back  quickly,  and  left  the  village 
weeping  aloud. 

"  I  had  figured  out  so  beautifully  how  I  would  surprise  them 
with  my  riches  :  by  the  strangest  chance,  what  I  had  only  dreamed 
in  childhood  was  become  reality ;  and  now  it  was  all  in  vain,  they 
could  not  rejoice  with  me,  and  that  which  had  been  my  first  hope 
in  life  was  lost  forever. 

"In  a  pleasant  town  I  hired  a  small  house  and  garden,  and 
took  to  myself  a  maid.  The  world,  in  truth,  proved  not  so  won- 
derful as  I  had  painted  it :  but  I  forgot  the  old  woman  and  my 
former  way  of  life  rather  more,  and,  on  the  whole,  I  was  con- 
tented. 

"  For  a  long  while  the  bird  had  ceased  to  sing ;  I  was  there- 
fore not  a  little  frightened,  when  one  night  he  suddenly  began 
again,  and  with  a  different  rhyme.    He  sang : 

Alone  in  wood  so  gay, 
Ah,  far  away ! 
But  thou  wilt  say 
Some  other  day, 
'Twere  best  to  stay 
Alone  in  wood  so  gay. 

"  Throughout  the  night  I  could  not  close  an  eye ;  all  things 
again  occurred  to  my  remembrance ;  and  I  felt,  more  than  ever, 
that  I  had  not  acted  rightly.  When  I  rose,  the  aspect  of  the  bird 
distressed  me  greatly ;  he  looked  at  me  continually,  and  his  pre- 
sence did  me  ill.  There  was  now  no  end  to  his  song ;  he  sang 
it  louder  and  more  shrilly  than  he  had  been  wont.  The  more 
I  looked  at  him,  the  more  he  pained  and  frightened  me  ;  at 
last  I  opened  the  cage,  put  in  my  hand,  and  grasped  his  neck ;  I 
squeezed  my  fingers  hard  together,  he  looked  at  me,  I  slackened 
them ;  but  he  was  dead.    I  buried  him  in  the  garden. 

"  After  this,  there  often  came  a  fear  over  me  for  my  maid ; 
I  looked  back  upon  myself,  and  fancied  she  might  rob  me  or 
murder  me.  For  a  long  while  I  had  been  acquainted  with  a 
young  knight,  whom  I  altogether  liked :  I  bestowed  on  him  my 
hand;  and  with  this,  Sir  Walther,  ends  my  story." 

"  Ay,  you  should  have  seen  her  then,"  said  Eckbert  warmly  ; 
"  seen  her  youth,  her  loveliness,  and  what  a  charm  her  lonely  way 
of  life  had  given  her.  I  had  no  fortune  ;  it  was  through  her  love 
these  riches  came  to  me ;  we  moved  hither,  and  our  marriage  has 
at  no  time  brought  us  anything  but  good." 


170 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


"  But  with  our  tattling,"  added  Bertha,  "  it  is  growing  very 
late  ;  we  must  go  to  sleep." 

She  rose,  and  proceeded  to  her  chamber ;  Walther,  with  a 
kiss  of  her  hand,  wished  her  good-night,  saying  :  "  Many  thanks, 
noble  lady ;  I  can  well  figure  you  beside  your  singing  bird,  and 
how  you  fed  poor  little  Strohmian." 

Walther  likewise  went  to  sleep ;  Eckbert  alone  still  walked 
in  a  restless  humour  up  and  down  the  room.  "  Are  not  men 
fools  ?"  said  he  at  last :  "  I  myself  occasioned  this  recital  of  my 
wife's  history,  and  now  such  confidence  appears  to  me  improper ! 
Will  he  not  abuse  it  ?  Will  he  not  communicate  the  secret  to 
others  ?  Will  he  not,  for  such  is  human  nature,  cast  unblessed 
thoughts  on  our  jewels,  and  form  pretexts  and  lay  plans  to  get 
possession  of  them  ?" 

It  now  occurred  to  his  mind  that  Walther  had  not  taken  leave 
of  him  so  cordially  as  might  have  been  expected  after  such  a  mark 
of  trust :  the  soul  once  set  upon  suspicion  finds  in  every  trifle 
something  to  confirm  it.  Eckbert,  on  the  other  hand,  reproached 
himself  for  such  ignoble  feelings  to  his  worthy  friend ;  yet  still 
he  could  not  cast  them  out.  All  night  he  plagued  himself  with 
such  uneasy  thoughts,  and  got  very  little  sleep. 

Bertha  was  unwell  next  day,  and  could  not  come  to  break- 
fast ;  Walther  did  not  seem  to  trouble  himself  much  about  her 
illness,  but  left  her  husband  also  rather  coolly.  Eckbert  could 
not  comprehend  such  conduct ;  he  went  to  see  his  wife,  and  found 
her  in  a  feverish  state ;  she  said  her  last  night's  story  must  have 
agitated  her. 

From  that  day,  Walther  visited  the  castle  of  his  friend  but 
seldom ;  and  when  he  did  appear,  it  was  but  to  say  a  few  un- 
meaning words  and  then  depart.  Eckbert  was  exceedingly  dis- 
tressed by  this  demeanour  :  to  Bertha  or  Walther  he  indeed  said 
nothing  of  it ;  but  to  any  person  his  internal  disquietude  was 
visible  enough. 

Bertha's  sickness  wore  an  aspect  more  and  more  serious;  the 
Doctor  grew  alarmed ;  the  red  had  vanished  from  his  patient's 
cheeks,  and  her  eyes  were  becoming  more  and  more  inflamed. 
One  morning  she  sent  for  her  husband  to  her  bedside ;  the  nurses 
were  ordered  to  withdraw. 

"  Dear  Eckbert,"  she  began,  "  I  must  disclose  a  secret  to 
thee,  which  has  almost  taken  away  my  senses,  which  is  ruining 
my  health,  unimportant  trifle  as  it  may  appear.    Thou  mayest 


THE  FAIR-HAIRED  ECKBERT. 


171 


remember,  often  as  I  talked  of  my  childhood,  I  could  never  call 
to  mind  the  name  of  the  dog  that  was  so  long  beside  me  :  now, 
that  night  on  taking  leave,  Walther  all  at  once  said  to  me  :  *  I 
can  well  figure  you,  and  how  you  fed  poor  little  Strohmian.'  Is 
it  chance  ?  Did  he  guess  the  name  ;  did  he  know  it,  and  speak 
it  on  purpose  ?  If  so,  how  stands  this  man  connected  with  my 
destiny  ?  At  times  I  struggle  with  myself,  as  if  I  but  imagined 
this  mysterious  business ;  but,  alas  !  it  is  certain,  too  certain. 
I  felt  a  shudder  that  a  stranger  should  help  me  to  recall  the  memory 
of  my  secrets.    What  sayest  thou,  Eckbert  ?" 

Eckbert  looked  at  his  sick  and  agitated  wife  with  deep  emo- 
tion ;  he  stood  silent  and  thoughtful ;  then  spoke  some  words  of 
comfort  to  her,  and  went  out.  In  a  distant  chamber,  he  walked 
to  and  fro  in  indescribable  disquiet.  Walther,  for  many  years, 
had  been  his  sole  companion ;  and  now  this  person  was  the  only 
mortal  in  the  world  whose  existence  pained  and  oppressed  him. 
It  seemed  as  if  he  should  be  gay  and  light  of  heart,  were  that  one 
thing  but  removed.  He  took  his  bow,  to  dissipate  these  thoughts ; 
and  went  to  hunt. 

It  was  a  rough  stormy  winter-day ;  the  snow  was  lying  deep 
on  the  hills,  and  bending  down  the  branches  of  the  trees.  He 
roved  about ;  the  sweat  was  standing  on  his  brow ;  he  found  no 
game,  and  this  embittered  his  ill-humour.  All  at  once  he  saw 
an  object  moving  in  the  distance ;  it  was  Walther  gathering  moss 
from  the  trunks  of  trees.  Scarce  knowing  what  he  did,  he  bent 
his  bow ;  Walther  looked  round,  and  gave  a  threatening  gesture, 
but  the  arrow  was  already  flying,  and  he  sank  transfixed  by  it. 

Eckbert  felt  relieved  and  calmed,  yet  a  certain  horror  drove 
him  home  to  his  castle.  It  was  a  good  way  distant ;  he  had  wan- 
dered far  into  the  woods.  On  arriving,  he  found  Bertha  dead : 
before  her  death,  she  had  spoken  much  of  Walther  and  the  old 
woman. 

For  a  great  while  after  this  occurrence,  Eckbert  lived  in  the 
deepest  solitude  :  he  had  all  along  been  melancholy,  for  the 
strange  history  of  his  wife  disturbed  him,  and  he  dreaded  some 
unlucky  incident  or  other ;  but  at  present  he  was  utterly  at  vari- 
ance with  himself.  The  murder  of  his  friend  arose  incessantly 
before  his  mind ;  he  lived  in  the  anguish  of  continual  remorse. 

To  dissipate  his  feelings,  he  occasionally  moved  to  the  neigh- 
bouring town,  where  he  mingled  in  society  and  its  amusements. 
He  longed  for  a  friend  to  fill  the  void  in  his  soul ;  and  jet,  when 


172 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


he  remembered  Walther,  he  would  shudder  at  the  thought  of  meet- 
ing with  a  friend ;  for  he  felt  convinced  that,  with  any  friend,  he 
must  be  unhappy.  He  had  lived  so  long  with  his  Bertha  in  lovely 
calmness  ;  the  friendship  of  Walther  had  cheered  him  through  so 
many  years ;  and  now  both  of  them  were  suddenly  swept  away. 
As  he  thought  of  these  things,  there  were  many  moments  when 
his  life  appeared  to  him  some  fabulous  tale,  rather  than  the  actual 
history  of  a  living  man. 

A  young  knight,  named  Hugo,  made  advances  to  the  silent 
melancholy  Eckbert,  and  appeared  to  have  a  true  affection  for 
him.  Eckbert  felt  himself  exceedingly  surprised ;  he  met  the 
knight's  friendship  with  the  greater  readiness,  the  less  he  had 
anticipated  it.  The  two  were  now  frequently  together;  Hugo 
showed  his  friend  all  possible  attentions ;  one  scarcely  ever  went 
to  ride  without  the  other ;  in  all  companies  they  got  together. 
In  a  word,  they  seemed  inseparable. 

Eckbert  was  never  happy  longer  than  a  few  transitory  mo- 
ments :  for  he  felt  too  clearly  that  Hugo  loved  him  only  by  mis- 
take ;  that  he  knew  him  not,  was  unacquainted  with  his  history ; 
and  he  was  seized  again  with  the  same  old  longing  to  unbosom 
himself  wholly,  that  he  might  be  sure  whether  Hugo  was  his 
friend  or  not.  But  again  his  apprehensions,  and  the  fear  of  being 
hated  and  abhorred,  withheld  him.  There  were  many  hours  in 
which  he  felt  so  much  impressed  with  his  entire  worthlessness, 
that  he  believed  no  mortal  not  a  stranger  to  his  history,  could 
entertain  regard  for  him.  Yet  still  he  was  unable  to  withstand 
himself:  on  a  solitary  ride,  he  disclosed  his  whole  history  to 
Hugo,  and  asked  if  he  could  love  a  murderer.  Hugo  seemed 
touched,  and  tried  to  comfort  him.  Eckbert  returned  to  town 
with  a  lighter  heart. 

But  it  seemed  to  be  his  doom  that,  in  the  very  hour  of  con- 
fidence, he  should  always  find  materials  for  suspicion.  Scarcely 
had  they  entered  the  public  hall,  when,  in  the  glitter  of  the  many 
lights,  Hugo's  looks  had  ceased  to  satisfy  him.  He  thought  he 
noticed  a  malicious  smile ;  he  remarked  that  Hugo  did  not  speak 
to  him  as  usual ;  that  he  talked  with  the  rest,  and  seemed  to  pay 
no  heed  to  him.  In  the  party  was  an  old  knight,  who  had  always 
shown  himself  the  enemy  of  Eckbert,  had  often  asked  about  his 
riches  and  his  wife  in  a  peculiar  style.  With  this  man  Hugo  was 
conversing;  they  were  speaking  privately,  and  casting  looks  at 
Eckbert.     The  suspicions  of  the  latter  seemed  confirmed ;  he 


THE  FAIR-HAIRED  ECKBERT. 


173 


thought  himself  betrayed,  and  a  tremendous  rage  took  hold  of 
him.  As  he  continued  gazing,  on  a  sudden  he  discerned  the 
countenance  of  Walther,  all  his  features,  all  the  form  so  well 
known  to  him ;  he  gazed,  and  looked,  and  felt  convinced  that  it 
was  none  but  Walther  who  was  talking  to  the  knight.  His  horror 
cannot  be  described ;  in  a  state  of  frenzy  he  rushed  out  of  the 
hall,  left  the  town  overnight,  and  after  many  wanderings,  returned 
to  his  castle. 

Here,  like  an  unquiet  spirit,  he  hurried  to  and  fro  from  room 
to  room ;  no  thought  would  stay  with  him ;  out  of  one  frightful 
idea  he  fell  into  another  still  more  frightful,  and  sleep  never 
visited  his  eyes.  Often  he  believed  that  he  was  mad,  that  a  dis- 
turbed imagination  was  the  origin  of  all  this  terror ;  then,  again, 
he  recollected  Walther's  features,  and  the  whole  grew  more  and 
more  a  riddle  to  him.  He  resolved  to  take  a  journey,  that  he 
might  reduce  his  thoughts  to  order ;  the  hope  of  friendship,  the 
desire  of  social  intercourse,  he  had  now  forever  given  up. 

He  set  out,  without  prescribing  to  himself  any  certain  route ; 
indeed,  he  took  small  heed  of  the  country  he  was  passing  through. 
Having  hastened  on  some  days  at  the  quickest  pace  of  his  horse, 
he,  on  a  sudden,  found  himself  entangled  in  a  labyrinth  of  rocks, 
from  which  he  could  discover  no  outlet.  At  length  he  met  an 
old  peasant,  who  took  him  by  a  path  leading  past  a  waterfall :  he 
offered  him  some  coins  for  his  guidance,  but  the  peasant  would 
not  have  them.  "What  use  is  it?"  said  Eckbert.  "I  could 
believe  that  this  man,  too,  was  none  but  Walther."  He  looked 
round  once  more,  and  it  was  none  but  Walther.  Eckbert 
spurred  his  horse  as  fast  as  it  could  gallop,  over  meads  and 
forests,  till  it  sank  exhausted  to  the  earth.  Kegardless  of  this, 
he  hastened  forward  on  foot. 

In  a  dreamy  mood  he  mounted  a  hill :  he  fancied  he  caught 
the  sound  of  lively  barking  at  a  little  distance ;  the  birch-trees 
whispered  in  the  intervals,  and  in  the  strangest  notes  he  heard 
this  song  : 

Alone  in  wood  so  gay, 
Once  more  I  stay; 
None  dare  me  slay, 
The  evil  far  away : 
Ah,  here  I  stay, 
Alone  in  wood  so  gay. 

The  sense,  the  consciousness  of  Eckbert  had  departed ;  it  was 


174 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


a  riddle  which  he  could  not  solve,  whether  he  was  dreaming  now, 
or  had  hefore  dreamed  of  a  wife  and  friend.  The  marvellous  was 
mingled  with  the  common  :  the  world  around  him  seemed  en- 
chanted, and  he  himself  was  incapable  of  thought  or  recollection. 

A  crooked,  bent  old  woman,  crawled  coughing  up  the  hill  with 
a  crutch.  "  Art  thou  bringing  me  my  bird,  my  pearls,  my  dog  ?" 
cried  she  to  him.  "  See  how  injustice  punishes  itself!  No  one 
but  I  was  Walther,  was  Hugo." 

"God  of  Heaven  !"  said  Eckbert,  muttering  to  himself;  "  in 
what  frightful  solitude  have  I  passed  my  life  ?" 

"And  Bertha  was  thy  sister." 

Eckbert  sank  to  the  ground. 

' 1  Why  did  she  leave  me  deceitfully  ?  All  would  have  been 
fair  and  well;  her  time  of  trial  was  already  finished.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  a  knight,  who  had  her  nursed  in  a  shepherd's 
house  ;  the  daughter  of  thy  father." 

"Why  have  I  always  had  a  forecast  of  this  dreadful  thought?" 
cried  Eckbert. 

"  Because  in  early  youth  thy  father  told  thee  :  he  could  not 
keep  this  daughter  by  him  for  his  second  wife,  her  stepmother." 

Eckbert  lay  distracted  and  dying  on  the  ground.  Faint  and 
bewildered,  he  heard  the  old  woman  speaking,  the  dog  barking, 
and  the  bird  repeating  its  song. 


THE  TRUSTY  EOKART. 


Brave  Burgundy  no  longer 
Could  fight  for  fatherland; 

The  foe  they  were  the  stronger, 
Upon  the  hloody  sand. 

He  said:  "  The  foe  prevaileth, 
My  friends  and  followers  fiy, 

My  striving  naught  availeth, 
My  spirits  sink  and  die. 

No  more  can  I  exert  me, 

Or  sword  and  lance  can  wield ; 

0,  why  did  he  desert  me, 
E chart,  our  trusty  shield ! 

In  fight  he  used  to  guide  me, 

In  danger  was  my  stay ; 
Alas,  he's  not  heside  me, 

But  stays  at  home  today! 

The  crowds  are  gathering  faster, 

Took  captive  shall  I  be? 
I  may  not  run  like  dastard, 

I'll  die  like  soldier  free." 

Thus  Burgundy  so  bitter, 

Has  at  his  breast  his  sword; 

When,  see,  breaks-in  the  Bitter 
Eckart,  to  save  his  lord! 

With  cap  and  armour  glancing,, 

Bold  on  the  foe  he  rides, 
His  troop  behind  him  prancing, 

And  his  two  sons  besides. 

Burgundy  sees  their  token, 

And  cries  :  "  Now,  God  be  praised  I 
Not  yet  we're  beat  or  broken, 

Since  Eckart's  flag  is  raised." 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


Tlien  like  a  true  knight,  Eckart 
Dash'd  gaily  through  the  foe : 

But  with  his  red  blood  flecker'd, 
His  little  son  lay  low. 

And  when  the  fight  was  ended, 
Then  Burgundy  he  speaks  : 
"  Thou  hast  me  well  befriended, 
Yet  so  as  wets  my  cheeks. 

The  foe  is  smote  and  flying ; 

Thou'st  saved  my  land  and  lift 
But  here  thy  boy  is  lying, 

Beturns  not  from  the  strife." 

Then  Eckart  wept  almost, 
The  tear  stood  in  his  eye ; 

He  clasp'd  the  son  he'd  lost, 
Close  to  his  breast  the  boy. 

51  Why  diedst  thou,  Heinz,  so  early, 
And  scarce  wast  yet  a  man  ? 
Thou'rt  fallen  in  battle  fairly ; 
For  thee  I'll  not  complain. 

Thee,  Prince,  we  have  deliver'd; 

From  danger  thou  art  f.ree : 
The  boy  and  I  are  sever'd ; 

I  give  my  son  to  thee." 

Then  Burgundy  our  chief, 

His  eyes  grew  moist  and  dim  j 

He  felt  such  joy  and  grief, 
So  great  that  love  to  him. 

His  heart  was  melting,  flaming, 

He  fell  on  Eckart's  breast, 
With  sobbing  voice  exclaiming : 
"  Eckart,  my  champion  best, 

Thou  stoodst  when  every  other 
Had  fled  from  me  away ; 

Therefore  thou  art  my  brother 
Forever  from  this  day. 

The  people  shall  regard  thee 
As  wert  thou  of  my  line ; 

And  could  I  more  reward  thee. 
How  gladly  were  it  thine  1" 

And  when  we  heard  the  same, 
We  joy'd  as  did  our  prince; 

And  Trusty  Eckart  is  the  name 
We've  call'd  him  ever  since. 


THE  TRUSTY  ECKAftT* 


177 


The  voice  of  an  old  peasant  sounded  over  the  rocks,  as  he 
sang  this  ballad ;  and  the  Trusty  Eckart  sat  in  his  grief,  on  the 
declivity  of  the  hill,  and  wept  aloud.  His  youngest  boy  was 
standing  by  him  :  "  Why  weepest  thou  aloud,  my  father  Eckart  ?" 
said  he  :  ' '  Art  thou  not  great  and  strong,  taller  and  braver  than 
any  other  man?    Whom,  then,  art  thou  afraid  of?" 

Meanwhile  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  was  moving  homewards  to 
his  Tower.  Burgundy  was  mounted  on  a  stately  horse,  with  splen- 
did trappings  ;  and  the  gold  and  jewels  of  the  princely  Duke  were 
glittering  in  the  evening  sun ;  so  that  little  Conrad  could  not  sate 
himself  with  viewing  and  admiring  the  magnificent  procession. 
The  Trusty  Eckart  rose,  and  looked  gloomily  over  it ;  and  young 
Conrad,  when  the  hunting  train  had  disappeared,  struck  up  this 
stave : 

On  good  steed, 
Sword  and  shield 
Wouldst  thou  wield, 
With  spear  and  arrow; 
Then  had  need 
That  the  marrow 
In  thy  arm, 

That  thy  heart  and  blood, 
Be  good, 

To  save  thy  head  from  harm. 

The  old  man  clasped  his  son  to  his  bosom,  looking  with  wist- 
ful tenderness  on  his  clear  blue  eyes.  "Didst  thou  hear  that 
good  man's  song?"  said  he. 

"  Ay,  why  not  1 "  answered  Conrad  :  "  he  sang  it  loud  enough, 
and  thou  art  the  Trusty  Eckart  thyself,  so  I  liked  to  listen." 

"  That  same  Duke  is  now  my  enemy,"  said  Eckart ;  "  he 
keeps  my  other  son  in  prison,  nay  has  already  put  him  to  death, 
if  I  may  credit  what  the  people  say." 

"  Take  down  thy  broad-sword,  and  do  not  suffer  it,"  cried 
Conrad;  "they  will  tremble  to  see  thee,  and  all  the  people  in 
the  whole  land  will  stand  by  thee,  for  thou  art  their  greatest  hero 
in  the  land." 

"Not  so,  my  son,"  said  the  other;  "I  were  then  the  man 
my  enemies  have  called  me ;  I  dare  not  be  unfaithful  to  my  liege  ; 
no,  I  dare  not  break  the  peace  which  I  have  pledged  to  him,  and 
promised  on  his  hand." 

"But  what  wants  he  with  us,  then]"  said  Conrad,  impa- 
tiently. 

vol.  in.  N 


178 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


Eckart  sat  down  again,  and  said  :  "  My  son,  the  entire  story 
of  it  would  be  long,  and  thou  wouldst  scarcely  understand  it. 
The  great  have  always  their  worst  enemy  in  their  own  hearts, 
and  they  fear  it  day  and  night ;  so  Burgundy  has  now  come  to 
think  that  he  has  trusted  me  too  far ;  that  he  has  nursed  in  me 
a  serpent  in  his  bosom.  People  call  me  the  stoutest  warrior  in 
our  country ;  they  say  openly  that  he  owes  me  land  and  life ;  I 
am  named  the  Trusty  Eckart ;  and  thus  oppressed  and  suffering 
persons  turn  to  me,  that  I  may  get  them  help.  All  this  he  can- 
not suffer.  So  he  has  taken  up  a  grudge  against  me ;  and  every 
one  that  wants  to  rise  in  favour  with  him  increases  his  distrust ; 
so  that  at  last  he  has  quite  turned  away  his  heart  from  me." 

Hereupon  the  hero  Eckart  told,  in  smooth  words,  how  Bur- 
gundy had  banished  him  from  his  sight,  how  they  had  become 
entire  strangers  to  each  other,  as  the  Duke  suspected  that  he 
even  meant  to  rob  him  of  his  dukedom.  In  trouble  and  sorrow, 
he  proceeded  to  relate  how  the  Duke  had  cast  his  son  into  con- 
finement, and  was  threatening  the  life  of  Eckart  himself,  as  of  a 
traitor  to  the^and. 

But  Conrad  said  to  his  father:  ' 1  Wilt  thou  let  me  go,  my 
old  father,  and  speak  with  the  Duke,  to  make  him  reasonable  and 
kind  to  thee  ?  If  he  has  killed  my  brother,  then  he  is  a  wicked 
man,  and  thou  must  punish  him ;  but  that  cannot  be,  for  he  could 
not  so  falsely  forget  the  great  service  thou  hast  done  him." 

"  Dost  thou  know  the  old  proverb  ?"  said  Eckart : 

"  Doth  the  king  require  thy  aid, 
Thou'rt  a  friend  can  ne'er  be  paid  ; 
Hast  thou  help'd  him  through  his  trouble 
Friendship's  grown  an  empty  bubble. 

Yes  ;  my  whole  life  has  been  wasted  in  vain.  Why  did  he  make 
me  great,  to  cast  me  down  the  deeper  ?  The  friendship  of  princes 
is  like  a  deadly  poison,  which  can  only  be  employed  against  our 
enemies,  and  with  which  at  last  we  unwarily  kill  ourselves." 

"  I  will  to  the  Duke,"  cried  Conrad  :  "  I  will  call  back  into 
his  soul  all  that  thou  hast  done,  that  thou  hast  suffered  for  him; 
and  he  will  again  be  as  of  old." 

"  Thou  hast  forgot,"  said  Eckart,  "  that  they  look  on  us  as 
traitors.  Therefore  let  us  fly  together  to  some  foreign  country, 
where  a  better  fortune  may  betide  us." 

"  At  thy  age,"  said  Conrad,  "  wilt  thou  turn  away  thy  face 
from  thy  kind  home  ?    I  will  to  Burgundy  ;  I  will  quiet  him,  and 


THE  TRUSTY  ECKART. 


179 


reconcile  him  to  thee.  What  can  he  do  to  me,  even  though  he 
still  hate  and  fear  thee  ?" 

"  I  let  thee  go  unwillingly,"  said  Eckart ;  "for  my  soul  fore- 
bodes no  good  ;  and  yet  I  would  fain  be  reconciled  to  him,  for  he 
is  my  old  friend ;  and  fain  save  thy  brother,  who  is  pining  in  the 
dungeon  beside  him." 

The  sun  threw  his  last  mild  rays  on  the  green  Earth  :  Eckart 
sat  pensively  leaning  back  against  a  tree  ;  he  looked  long  at  Con- 
rad, then  said  :  "  If  thou  wilt  go,  my  little  boy,  go  now,  before 
the  night  grow  altogether  dark.  The  windows  in  the  Duke's 
Castle  are  already  glittering  with  lights,  and  I  hear  afar  off  the 
sound  of  trumpets  from  the  feast ;  perhaps  his  son's  bride  may 
have  arrived,  and  his  mind  may  be  friendlier  to  us." 

Unwillingly  he  let  him  go,  for  he  no  longer  trusted  to  his 
fortune:  but  Conrad's  heart  was  light;  for  he  thought  it  would 
be  an  easy  task  to  turn  the  mind  of  Burgundy,  who  had  played 
with  him  so  kindly  but  a  short  while  before.  "  Wilt  thou  come 
back  to  me,  my  little  boy?"  sobbed  Eckart :  "  if  I  lose  thee,  no 
other  of  my  race  remains."  The  boy  consoled  him  ;  flattered 
him  with  caresses  :  at  last  they  parted. 

Conrad  knocked  at  the  gate  of  the  Castle,  and  was  let  in ;  old 
Eckart  stayed  without  in  the  night  alone.  "  Him  too  have  I 
lost,"  moaned  he  in  his  solitude;  "I  shall  never  see  his  face 
again." 

Whilst  he  so  lamented,  there  came  tottering  towards  him  a 
gray-haired  man  ;  endeavouring  to  get  down  the  rocks  ;  and  seem- 
ing, at  every  step,  to  fear  that  he  should  stumble  into  the  abyss. 
Seeing  the  old  man's  feebleness,  Eckart  held  out  his  hand  to  him, 
and  helped  him  to  descend  in  safety. 

"  Which  way  come  ye  ?"  inquired  Eckart. 

The  old  man  sat  down,  and  began  to  weep,  so  that  the  tears 
came  running  over  his  cheeks.  Eckart  tried  to  soothe  him  and 
console  him  with  reasonable  words ;  but  the  sorrowful  old  man 
seemed  not  at  all  to  heed  these  well-meant  speeches,  but  to  yield 
himself  the  more  immoderately  to  his  sorrows. 

"What  grief  can  it  be  that  lies  so  heavy  on  you  as  to  over- 
power you  utterly?"  said  Eckart. 

"  Ah,  my  children  !"  moaned  the  old  man. 

Then  Eckart  thought  of  Conrad,  Heinz  and  Dietrich,  and  was 
himself  altogether  comfortless.  "  Yes,"  said  he,  "if  your  chil- 
dren are  dead,  your  misery  in  truth  is  very  great." 


180 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


"Worse  than  dead,"  replied  the  old  man,  with  his  mournful 
voice  ;  "  for  they  are  not  dead,  but  lost  forever  to  me.  0,  would 
to  Heaven  that  they  were  but  dead !" 

These  strange  words  astonished  Eckart,  and  he  asked  the 
old  man  to  explain  the  riddle ;  whereupon  the  latter  answered  : 
"  The  age  we  live  in  is  indeed  a  marvellous  age,  and  surely  the 
last  days  are  at  hand ;  for  the  most  dreadful  signs  are  sent  into 
the  world,  to  threaten  it.  Every  sort  of  wickedness  is  casting  off 
its  old  fetters,  and  stalking  bold  and  free  about  the  Earth ;  the 
fear  of  Grod  is  drying  up  and  dispersing,  and  can  find  no  channel 
to  unite  in ;  and  the  Powers  of  Evil  are  rising  audaciously  from 
their  dark  nooks,  and  celebrating  their  triumph.  Ah,  my  dear 
sir !  we  are  old,  but  not  old  enough  for  such  prodigious  things. 
You  have  doubtless  seen  the  Comet,  that  wondrous  light  in  the 
sky,  that  shines  so  prophetically  down  upon  us  ?  All  men  pre- 
dict evil ;  and  no  one  thinks  of  beginning  the  reform  with  him- 
self, and  so  essaying  to  turn  off  the  rod.  Nor  is  this  enough  ; 
but  portents  are  also  issuing  from  the  Earth,  and  breaking  mys- 
teriously from  the  depths  below,  even  as  the  light  shines  fright- 
fully on  us  from  above.  Have  you  never  heard  of  the  Hill,  which 
people  call  the  Hill  of  Yenus  ?" 

"  Never,"  said  Eckart,  "  far  as  I  have  travelled." 

"  I  am  surprised  at  that,"  replied  the  old  man ;  "for  the 
matter  is  now  grown  as  notorious  as  it  is  true.  To  this  Moun- 
tain have  the  Devils  fled,  and  sought  shelter  in  the  desert  centre 
of  the  Earth,  according  as  the  growth  of  our  Holy  Faith  has  cast 
down  the  idolatrous  worship  of  the  Heathen.  Here,  they  say, 
before  all  others,  Lady  Yenus  keeps  her  court,  and  all  her  hellish 
hosts  of  worldly  Lusts  and  forbidden  Wishes  gather  round  her, 
so  that  the  Hill  has  been  accursed  since  time  immemorial." 

"  But  in  what  country  lies  the  Hill  ?"  inquired  Eckart. 

"  There  is  the  secret,"  said  the  old  man,  "  that  no  one  can 
tell  this,  except  he  have  first  given  himself  up  to  be  Satan's  ser- 
vant ;  and,  indeed,  no  guiltless  person  ever  thinks  of  seeking  it 
out.  A  wonderful  Musician  on  a  sudden  issues  from  below,  whom 
the  Powers  of  Hell  have  sent  as  their  ambassador ;  he  roams 
through  the  world,  and  plays,  and  makes  music  on  a  pipe,  so 
that  his  tones  sound  far  and  wide.  And  whoever  hears  these 
sounds  is  seized  by  him  with  visible  yet  inexplicable  force,  and 
drawn  on,  on,  into  the  wilderness  ;  he  sees  not  the  road  he  tra- 
vels ;  he  wanders,  and  wanders,  and  is  not  weary  ;  his  strength 


THE  TRUSTY  ECKART. 


and  his  speed  go  on  increasing ;  no  power  can  restrain  him ;  but 
he  runs  frantic  into  the  Mountain,  from  which  he  can  nevermore 
return.  This  power  has,  in  our  day,  been  restored  to  Hell ;  and 
in  this  inverse  direction,  the  ill-starred,  perverted  pilgrims  are 
travelling  to  a  Shrine  where  no  deliverance  awaits  them,  or  can 
reach  them  any  more.  For  a  long  while,  my  two  sons  had  given 
me  no  contentment  ;  they  were  dissolute  and  immoral ;  they  de- 
spised r  their  parents,  as  they  did  religion  ;  but  now  the  Sound 
has  caught  and  carried  them  off,  they  are  gone  into  unseen  king- 
doms ;  the  world  was  too  narrow  for  them,  they  are  seeking  room 
in  Hell." 

"  And  what  do  you  intend  to  do  in  such  a  mystery  ?"  said 
Eckart. 

"  With  this  crutch  I  set  out,"  replied  the  old  man,  "  to  wan- 
der through  the  world,  to  find  them  again,  or  die  of  weariness 
and  woe." 

So  saymg,  he  tore  himself  from  his  rest  with  a  strong  effort ; 
and  hastened  forth  with  his  utmost  speed,  as  if  he  had  found 
himself  neglecting  his  most  precious  earthly  hope  ;  and  Eckart 
looked  with  compassion  on  his  vain  toil,  and  rated  him  in  his 
thoughts  as  mad. 

It  had  been  night,  and  was  now  day,  and  Conrad  came  not 
back.  Eckart  wandered  to  and  fro  among  the  rocks,  and  turned 
his  longing  eyes  on  the  Castle  ;  still  he  did  not  see  him.  A  crowd 
came  issuing  through  the  gate  ;  and  Eckart  no  longer  heeded  to 
conceal  himself;  but  mounted  his  horse,  which  was  grazing  in 
freedom  ;  and  rode  into  the  middle  of  the  troop,  who  were  now 
proceeding  merrily  and  carelessly  across  the  plain.  On  his  reach- 
ing them,  they  recognised  him  ;  but  no  one  laid  a  hand  on  him, 
or  said  a  hard  word  to  him  ;  they  stood  mute  for  reverence,  sur- 
rounded him  in  admiration,  and  then  went  their  way.  One  of  the 
squires  he  called  back,  and  asked  him:  "  Where  is  my  Conrad?" 

"  0  !  ask  me  not,"  replied  the  squire  ;  "  it  would  but  cause 
you  sorrow  and  lamenting." 

"  And  Dietrich  !"  cried  the  father. 

"  Name  not  their  names  any  more,"  said  the  aged  squire, 
"  for  they  are  gone  ;  the  wrath  of  our  master  was  kindled  against 
them,  and  he  meant  to  punish  you  in  them." 

A  hot  rage  mounted  up  in  Eckart's  soul ;  and,  for  sorrow  and 
fury,  he  was  no  longer  master  of  himself.  He  dashed  the  spurs 
into  his  horse,  and  rode  through  the  Castle -gate.  All  drew  back, 


182 


LTJDWIG  TIECK. 


with  timid  reverence,  from  his  way  ;  and  thus  he  rode  on  to  the 
front  of  the  Palace.  He  sprang  from  horseback,  and  mounted  the 
great  steps  with  wavering  pace.  "  Am  I  here  in  the  dwelling  of 
the  man,"  said  he,  within  himself,  "  who  was  once  my  friend  ?" 
He  endeavoured  to  collect  his  thoughts  ;  hut  wilder  and  wilder 
images  kept  moving  in  his  eye,  and  thus  he  stept  into  the  Prince's 
chamber. 

Burgundy's  presence  of  mind  forsook  him,  and  he  trembled 
as  Eckart  stood  in  his  presence.  "  Art  thou  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy ?"  said  Eckart  to  him.  To  which  the  Duke  answered, 
"  Yes." 

"  And  thou  hast  killed  my  son  Dietrich  ?"    The  Duke  said, 

"Yes." 

"  And  my  little  Conrad  too,"  cried  Eckart,  in  his  grief,  "was 
not  too  good  for  thee,  and  thou  hast  killed  him  also?"  To  which 
the  Duke  again  answered,  "  Yes." 

Here  Eckart  was  unmanned,  and  said,  in  tears:  "0!  answer 
me  not  so,  Burgundy  ;  for  I  cannot  bear  these  speeches.  TeD 
me  but  that  thou  art  sorry,  that  thou  wishest  it  were  yet  undone, 
and  I  will  try  to  comfort  myself ;  but  thus  thou  art  utterly  offen- 
sive to  my  heart." 

The  Duke  said:  "Depart  from  my  sight,  false  traitor;  for 
thou  art  the  worst  enemy  I  have  on  Earth." 

Eckart  said  :  "  Thou  hast  of  old  called  me  thy  friend  ;  but 
these  thoughts  are  now  far  from  thee.  Never  did  I  act  against 
thee ;  still  have  I  honoured  and  loved  thee  as  my  prince ;  and 
God  forbid  that  I  should  now,  as  I  well  might,  lay  my  hand  upon 
my  sword,  and  seek  revenge  of  thee.  No,  I  will  depart  from  thy 
sight,  and  die  in  solitude." 

So  saying,  he  went  out ;  and  Burgundy  was  moved  in  his 
mind ;  but  at  his  call,  the  guards  appeared  with  their  lances,  who 
encircled  him  on  all  sides,  and  motioned  to  drive  Eckart  from  the 
chamber  with  their  weapons. 

To  horse  the  hero  springs, 

Wild  through  the  hills  he  rideth: 
"  Of  hope  in  earthly  things, 

Now  none  with  me  ahideth. 

My  sons  are  slain  in  youth, 

I  have  no  child  or  wife ; 
The  Prince  suspects  my  truth, 

Has  sworn  to  take  my  life.'* 


THE  TRUSTY  ECKART. 


183 


Then  to  the  wood  he  turns  him, 

There  gallops  on  and  on ; 
The  smart  of  sorrow  burns  him, 

He  cries  :  "They're  gone,  they're  gOD© 

All  living  men  from  me  are  fled, 

New  friends  I  must  provide  me, 
To  the  oaks  and  firs  beside  me, 

Complain  in  desert  dead. 

There  is  no  child  to  cheer  me, 

By  cruel  wolves  they're  slain; 
Once  three  of  them  were  near  me, 

I  see  them  not  again." 

As  Eckart  cried  thus  sadly, 

His  sense  it  pass'd  away; 
He  rides  in  fury  madly 

Till  dawning  of  the  day. 

His  horse  in  frantic  speed 

Sinks  down  at  last  exhausted; 
And  naught  does  Eckart  heed, 

Or  think  or  know  what  caused  it ; 

But  on  the  cold  ground  lie, 

Not  fearing,  loving  longer ; 
Despair  grows  strong  and  stronger, 

He  wishes  but  to  die. 

No  one  about  the  Castle  knew  whither  Eckart  had  gone ;  for 
he  had  lost  himself  in  the  waste  forests,  and  let  no  man  see  him. 
The  Duke  dreaded  his  intentions  ;  and  he  now  repented  that  he 
had  let  him  go,  and  not  laid  hold  of  him.  So,  one  morning,  he 
set  forth  with  a  great  train  of  hunters  and  attendants,  to  search 
the  woods,  and  find  out  Eckart ;  for  he  thought,  that  till  Eckart 
were  destroyed,  there  could  be  no  security.  All  were  unwearied, 
and  regardless  of  toil ;  but  the  sun  set  without  their  having  found 
a  trace  of  Eckart. 

A  storm  came  on,  and  great  clouds  flew  blustering  over  the 
forest ;  the  thunder  rolled,  and  lightning  struck  the  tall  oaks  : 
all  present  were  seized  with  an  unquiet  terror,  and  they  gradually 
dispersed  among  the  bushes,  or  the  open  spaces  of  the  wood. 
The  Duke's  horse  plunged  into  the  thicket ;  his  squires  could 
not  follow  him :  the  gallant  horse  rushed  to  the  ground ;  and 
Burgundy  in  vain  called  through  the  tempest  to  his  servants ;  for 
there  was  no  one  that  could  hear  him. 

Like  a  wild  man  had  Eckart  roamed  about  the  woods,  uncon  > 
scious  of  himself  or  his  misfortunes  ;  he  had  lost  all  thought,  and 
in  blank  stupefaction  satisfied  his  hunger  with  roots  and  herbs  : 


184 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


the  hero  could  not  now  he  recognised  by  any  one,  so  sore  had  the 
days  of  his  despair  defaced  him.  As  the  storm  came  on,  he  awoke 
from  his  stupefaction,  and  again  felt  his  existence  and  his  woes, 
and  saw  the  misery  that  had  befallen  him.  He  raised  a  loud  cry 
of  lamentation  for  his  children ;  he  tore  his  white  hair ;  and  called 
out,  in  the  bellowing  of  the  storm  :  "  Whither,  whither  are  ye 
gone,  ye  parts  of  my  heart  ?  And  how  is  all  strength  departed 
from  me,  that  I  could  not  even  avenge  your  death  ?  Why  did  I 
hold  back  my  arm,  and  did  not  send  to  death  him  who  had  given 
my  heart  these  deadly  stabs  ?  Ha,  fool,  thou  deservest  that  the 
tyrant  should  mock  thee,  since  thy  powerless  arm  and  thy  silly 
heart  withstood  not  the  murderer.  Now,  0  now  were  he  with 
me  !  But  it  is  in  vain  to  wish  for  vengeance,  when  the  moment 
is  gone  by." 

Thus  came  on  the  night,  and  Eckart  wandered  to  and  fro  in 
his  sorrow.  From  a  distance  he  heard  as  it  were  a  voice  calling 
for  help.  Directing  his  steps  by  the  sound,  he  came  up  to  a  man 
in  the  darkness,  who  was  leaning  on  the  stem  of  a  tree,  and  mourn- 
fully entreating  to  be  guided  to  his  road.  Eckart  started  at  the 
voice,  for  it  seemed  familiar  to  him ;  but  he  soon  recovered,  and 
perceived  that  the  lost  wayfarer  was  the  Duke  of  Burgundy.  Then 
he  raised  his  hand  to  his  sword,  to  cut  down  the  man  who  had 
been  the  murderer  of  his  children  ;  his  fury  came  on  him  with  new 
force,  and  he  was  upon  the  point  of  finishing  his  bloody  task,  when 
all  at  once  he  stopped,  for  his  oath  and  the  word  he  had  pledged 
came  into  his  mind.  He  took  his  enemy's  hand,  and  led  him  to 
the  quarter  where  he  thought  the  road  must  be. 

The  Duke  foredone  and  weary 
Sank  in  the  wilder'd  hreaks ; 

Hirri  in  the  tempest  dreary- 
He  on  his  shoulders  takes. 

Said  Burgundy:  "I'm  giving 

Much  toil  to  thee,  I  fear." 
Eckart  replied :  "  The  living 

On  Earth  have  much  to  hear." 

"  Yet,"  said  the  Duke,  "  helieve  me, 
Were  we  out  of  the  wood, 
Since  now  thou  dost  relieve  me, 
Thy  sorrows  I'll  make  good." 

The  hero  at  this  promise 

Felt  on  his  cheek  the  tear; 
Said  he :  "  Indeed  I  nowise 

Do  look  for  payment  here." 


THE  TRUSTY  ECKART. 


185 


"  Harder  our  plight  is  growing," 

The  Duke  cries,  dreading  scath, 
"  Now  whither  are  we  going? 

Who  art  thou?  Art  thou  Death  ?" 

"  Not  Death,"  said  he,  still  weeping, 
"  Or  any  fiend  am  I ; 
Thy  life  is  in  God's  keeping, 
Thy  ways  are  in  his  eye." 

"  Ah,"  said  the  Duke,  repenting, 
"  My  breast  is  foul  within; 
I  tremble,  while  lamenting, 
Lest  God  requite  my  sin. 

My  truest  friend  I've  banish'd, 

His  children  have  I  slain, 
In  wrath  from  me  he  vanish'd, 

As  foe  he  comes  again. 

To  me  he  was  devoted, 

Through  good  report  and  bad ; 
My  rights  he  .still  promoted, 

The  truest  man  I  had. 

Me  he  can  never  pardon, 

I  kill'd  his  children  dear; 
This  night,  to  pay  my  guerdon, 

I'  th'  wood  he  lurks,  I  fear. 

This  does  my  conscience  teach  me, 

A  threat'ning  voice  within  ; 
If  here  to-night  he  reach  me, 

I  die  a  child  of  sin." 

Said  Eckart :  "  The  beginning 

Of  our  woes  is  guilt ; 
My  grief  is  for  thy  sinning, 

And  for  the  blood  thou'st  spilt. 

And  that  the  man  will  meet  thee 

Is  likewise  surely  true ; 
Yet  fear  not,  I  entreat  thee, 

He'll  harm  no  hair  of  you." 

Thus  were  they  going  forward  talking,  when  another  person  in 
the  forest  met  them  ;  it  was  Wolfram,  the  Duke's  Squire,  who  had 
long  been  looking  for  his  master.  The  dark  night  was  still  lying 
over  them,  and  no  star  twinkled  from  between  the  wet  black  clouds. 
The  Duke  felt  weaker,  and  longed  to  reach  some  lodging,  where 
he  might  sleep  till  day;  besides,  he  was  afraid  that  he  might 
meet  with  Eckart,  who  stood  like  a  spectre  before  his  soul.  He 
imagined  he  should  never  see  the  morning ;  and  shuddered  anew 
when  the  wind  again  rustled  through  the  high  trees,  and  the  storm 


186 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


came  down  from  the  hollows  of  the  mountains,  and  went  rushing 
over  his  head.  "  Wolfram,"  cried  the  Duke,  in  his  anguish, 
"  climb  one  of  these  tall  pines,  and  look  about  if  thou  canst  spy 
no  light,  no  house  or  cottage,  whither  we  may  turn." 

The  Squire,  at  the  hazard  of  his  life,  clomb  up  a  lofty  pine, 
which  the  storm  was  waving  from  the  one  side  to  the  other,  and 
ever  and  anon  bending  down  the  top  of  it  to  the  very  ground ;  so 
that  the  Squire  wavered  to  and  fro  upon  it  like  a  little  squirrel. 
At  last  he  reached  the  top,  and  cried:  "  Down  there,  in  the  valley, 
I  see  the  glimmer  of  a  candle ;  thither  must  we  turn."  So  he 
descended  and  showed  the  way;  and  in  a  while,  they  all  perceived 
the  cheerful  light ;  at  which  the  Duke  once  more  took  heart. 
Eckart  still  continued  mute,  and  occupied  within  himself;  he 
spoke  no  word,  and  looked  at  his  inward  thoughts.  On  arriving 
at  the  hut,  they  knocked ;  and  a  little  old  housewife  let  them  in : 
as  they  entered,  the  stout  Eckart  set  the  Duke  down  from  his 
shoulders,  who  threw  himself  immediately  upon  his  knees,  and  in 
a  fervent  prayer  thanked  God  for  his  deliverance.  Eckart  took 
his  seat  in  a  dark  corner ;  and  there  he  found  fast  asleep  the  poor 
old  man,  who  had  lately  told  him  of  his  great  misery  about  his 
sons,  and  the  search  he  was  making  for  them. 

When  the  Duke  had  done  praying,  he  said:  "Very  strange 
have  my  thoughts  been  this  night,  and  the  goodness  of  God  and 
his  almighty  power  never  showed  themselves  so  openly  before  to 
my  obdurate  heart :  my  mind  also  tells  me  that  I  have  not  long 
to  live  ;  and  I  desire  nothing  save  that  God  would  pardon  me  my 
manifold  and  heavy  sins.  You  two,  also,  who  have  led  me  hither, 
I  could  wish  to  recompense,  so  far  as  in  my  power,  before  my  end 
arrive.  To  thee,  Wolfram,  I  give  both  the  castles  that  are  on 
these  hills  beside  us  ;  and  in  future,  in  remembrance  of  this 
awful  night,  thou  shalt  call  them  the  Tannenhauser,  or  Pine- 
houses.  But  who  art  thou,  strange  man,"  continued  he,  "that 
hast  placed  thyself  there  in  the  nook,  apart  ?  Come  forth,  that 
I  may  also  pay  thee  for  thy  toil." 

Then  rose  the  hero  from  his  place, 
And  stept  into  the  light  hef ore  them ; 
Deep  lines  of  woe  were  on  his  face, 
But  with  a  patient  mind  he  bore  them. 

And  Burgundy,  his  heart  forsook  him, 
To  see  that  mild  old  gray-hair'd  man ; 
His  face  grew  pale,  a  trembling  took  him, 
He  swoon'd  and  sank  lo  earth  again. 


THE  TKUSTY  ECKART. 


187 


0,  saints  of  heaven,"  he  wakes  and  cries, 
44  Is't  thou  that  art  hefore  my  eyes? 
How  shall  I  fly  ?  Where  shall  I  hide  me  ? 
Was't  thou  that  in  the  wood  didst  guide  me  ? 
I  kill'd  thy  children  young  and  fair, 
Me  in  thy  arms  how  couldst  thou  hear  ?" 

Thus  Burgundy  goes  on  to  wail, 
And  feels  the  heart  within  him  fail ; 
Death  is  at  hand,  remorse  pursues  him, 
With  streaming  eyes  he  sinks  on  Eckart's  boson* ; 
And  Eckart  whispers  to  him  low : 
"  Henceforth  I  have  forgot  the  slight, 
So  thou  aDd  all  the  world  may  know, 
Eckart  was  still  thy  trusty  knight." 

Thus  passed  the  hours  till  morning,  when  some  other  servants 
of  the  Duke  arrived,  and  found  their  dying  master.  They  laid 
him  on  a  mule,  and  took  him  hack  to  his  castle.  Eckart  he 
could  not  suffer  from  his  side ;  he  would  often  take  his  hand  and 
press  it  to  his  hreast,  and  look  at  him  with  an  imploring  look. 
Then  Eckart  would  embrace  him,  and  speak  a  few  kind  words 
to  him,  and  so  the  Prince  would  feel  composed.  At  last  he  sum- 
moned all  his  Council,  and  declared  to  them  that  he  appointed 
Eckart,  the  trusty  man,  to  be  guardian  of  his  sons,  seeing  he  had 
proved  himself  the  noblest  of  all.    And  thus  he  died. 

Thenceforward  Eckart  took  on  him  the  government  with  all 
zeal ;  and  every  person  in  the  land  admired  his  high  manly  spirit. 
Not  long  afterwards  a  rumour  spread  abroad  in  all  quarters,  of  a 
strange  Musician,  who  had  come  from  Venus-Hill,  who  was  tra- 
velling through  the  whole  land,  and  seducing  men  with  his  play- 
ing, so  that  they  disappeared,  and  no  one  could  find  any  traces 
of  them.  Many  credited  the  story,  others  not ;  Eckart  recollected 
the  unhappy  old  man. 

"  I  have  taken  you  for  my  sons,"  said  he  to  the  young  Princes, 
as  he  once  stood  with  them  on  the  hill  before  the  Castle  ;  ' '  your 
happiness  must  now  be  my  posterity ;  when  dead,  I  shall  still  live 
in  your  joy."  They  lay  down  on  the  slope,  from  which  the  fair 
country  was  visible  for  many  a  league ;  and  here  Eckart  had  to 
guard  himself  from  speaking  of  his  children  ;  for  they  seemed  as 
if  coming  towards  him  from  the  distant  mountains,  while  he  heard 
afar  off  a  lovely  sound. 

"  Comes  it  not  like  dreams 

Stealing  o'er  the  vales  and  streams  ? 
Out  of  regions  far  from  this, 
Like  the  song  of  souls  in  bliss 


188 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


This  to  the  youths  did  Eckavt  say, 

And  caught  the  sound  from  far  away; 

And  as  the  magic  tones  came  nigher, 

A  wicked  strange  desire 

Awakens  in  the  breasts  of  these  pure  hoys, 

That  drives  them  forth  to  seek  for  unknown  joys. 

"  Come,  let's  to  the  fields,  to  the  meadows  and  mountains, 
The  forests  invite  us,  the  streams  and  the  fountains  3 
Soft  voices  in  secret  for  loitering  chide  us, 
Away  to  the  Garden  of  Pleasure  they'll  guide  us." 

The  Player  comes  in  foreign  guise, 
Appears  before  their  wondering  eyes  ; 
And  higher  swells  the  music's  sound, 
And  brighter  glows  the  emerald  ground ; 
The  flowers  appear  as  drunk, 
Twilight  red  has  on  them  sunk  ; 

And  through  the  green  grass  play,  with  airy  lightness, 

Soft,  fitful,  blue  and  golden  streaks  of  brightness. 

Like  a  shadow,  melts  and  flits  away 

All  that  bound  men  to  this  world  of  clay ; 

In  Earth  all  toil  and  tumult  cease, 

Like  one  bright  flower  it  blooms  in  peace ; 

The  mountains  rock  in  purple  light, 

The  valleys  shout  as  with  delight ; 

All  rush  and  whirl  in  the  music's  noise, 

And  long  to  share  of  these  offer'd  joys  ; 

The  soul  of  man  is  allured  to  gladness, 

And  lies  entranced  in  that  blissful  madness. 

The  Trusty  Eckart  felt  it, 

But  wist  not  of  the  cause ; 
His  heart  the  music  melted, 

He  wondered  what  it  was. 

The  world  seems  new  and  fairer, 

All  blooming  like  the  rose  ; 
Can  Eckart  be  a  sharer 

In  raptures  such  as  those  ? 

"  Ha  !  Are  those  tones  restoring 
My  wife  and  bonny  sons  ? 
All  that  I  was  deploring, 
My  lost  beloved  ones?" 

Yet  soon  his  sense  collected 

Brought  doubt  within  his  breast  j 

These  hellish  arts  detected, 
A  horror  him  possessed. 

And  now  he  sees  the  raging 

Of  his  young  princes  dear ; 
Themselves  to  Hell  engaging, 

His  voice  no  more  they  hear. 


THE  TRUSTY  ECKAttT. 


And  forth,  in  wild  commotion, 
They  rush,  not  knowing  where ; 

In  tumult  like  the  ocean, 
When  mad  his  hillows  are. 

Then,  as  these  things  assail'd  him, 

He  wist  not  what  to  do  ; 
His  knighthood  almost  fail'd  him 

Amid  that  hellish  crew. 

Then  to  his  soul  appeareth 
The  hour  the  Duke  did  die ; 

His  friend's  faint  prayer  he  heareth, 
He  sees  his  fading  eye. 

And  so  his  mind's  in  armour, 
And  hope  is  conquering  fear ; 

When  see,  the  fiendish  Charmer 
Himself  comes  piping  near  ! 

His  sword  to  draw  he  essayeth, 
And  smite  the  caitiff  dead ; 

But  as  the  music  playeth, 

His  strength  is  from  him  fled. 

And  from  the  mountains  issue 
Crowds  of  distorted  forms, 

Of  Dwarfs  a  boundless  tissue 

Come  simmering  round  in  swarms. 

The  youths,  possess'd,  are  running 

As  frantic  in  the  crowd : 
In  vain  is  force  or  cunning ; 

In  vain  to  call  aloud. 

And  hurries  on  by  castle, 

By  tower  and  town,  the  rout ; 

Like  imps  in  hellish  wassail, 

With  cackling  laugh  and  shout. 

He  too  is  in  the  rabble  ; 

May  not  resist  their  force, 
Must  hear  their  deafening  babble, 

Attend  their  frantic  course. 

But  now  the  Hill  appeareth, 
And  music  comes  thereout ; 

And  as  the  Phantoms  hear  it, 
They  halt,  and  raise  a  shout. 

The  Mountain  starts  asunder, 

A  motley  crowd  is  seen ; 
This  way  and  that  they  wander, 

In  red  unearthly  sheen. 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


Then  Mb  broad-sword  he  drew  it, 

And  says  :  "  Still  true,  though  lost  1" 

And  with  mad  force  he  heweth 
Through  that  Infernal  host. 

His  youths  he  sees  (how  gladly !) 

Escaping  through  the  vale ; 
The  Fiends  are  fighting  madly, 

And  threatening  to  prevail. 

The  Dwarfs,  when  hurt,  fly  downward, 

And  rise  up  cured  again ; 
And  other  crowds  rush  onwTard, 

And  fight  with  might  and  main. 

Then  saw  he  from  a  distance 
The  children  safe,  and  cried: 
<s  They  need  not  my  assistance, 
I  care  not  what  betide." 

His  good  broad-sw7ord  doth  glitter 
And  flash  i'  th'  noontide  ray; 

The  Dwarfs,  with  wailing  bitter, 
And  howls,  depart  away. 

Safe  at  the  valley's  ending, 
The  youths  far  off  he  spies  ; 

Then  faint  and  wounded,  bending, 
The  hero  falls  and  dies. 

So  his  last  hour  o'ertook  him, 

Fighting  like  lion  brave  ; 
His  truth,  it  ne'er  forsook  him, 

He  was  faithful  to  the  grave. 

Now  Eckart  having  perish'd, 

The  eldest  son  bore  sway ; 
His  memory  still  he  cherish'd, 

With  grateful  heart  would  say: 

"  From  foes  and  wreck  to  save  me, 
Like  lion  grim  he  fought ; 
My  throne,  my  life,  he  gave  me, 

And  with  his  heart's  blood  bought,* 

And  soon  a  wondrous  rumour 
The  country  round  did  fill, 

That  when  a  desp'rate  humour 
Doth  send  one  to  the  Hill, 

There  straight  a  Shape  will  meet  him 
The  Trusty  Eckart' s  ghost, 

And  wistfully  entreat  him 
To  turn,  and  not  be  lost. 

There  he,  though  dead,  yet  ever 
True  watch  and  ward  doth  hold; 

Upon  the  Earth  shall  never 
Be  man  so  true  and  bold. 


THE  TEUSTY  ECKAIiT. 


191 


PART  II. 

More  than  four  centuries  had  elapsed  since  the  Trusty  Eck- 
art's  death,  when  a  noble  Tannenhauser,  in  the  station  of  Imperial 
Counsellor,  was  living  at  Court  in  the  highest  estimation.  The 
son  of  this  knight  surpassed  in  beauty  all  the  other  nobles  of  the 
land,  and  on  this  account  was  loved  and  prized  by  every  one. 
Suddenly,  however,  after  some  mysterious  incidents  had  been 
observed  to  happen  to  him,  the  young  man  disappeared ;  and  no 
one  knew  or  guessed  what  was  become  of  him.  Since  the  times 
of  the  Trusty  Eckart,  there  had  always  been  a  story  current  in 
the  land  about  the  Venus-Hill ;  and  many  said  that  he  had  wan- 
dered thither,  and  was  lost  forever. 

One  of  those  that  most  lamented  him  was  his  young  friend 
Friedrich  von  Wolfsburg.  They  had  grown  up  together,  and 
their  mutual  attachment  seemed  to  each  of  them  to  have  become 
a  necessary  of  life.  Tannenhauser' s  old  father  died :  Friedrich 
married  some  years  afterwards  ;  already  was  a  ring  of  merry 
children  round  him,  and  still  he  heard  no  tidings  of  his  youthful 
friend ;  so  that,  in  the  end,  he  was  forced  to  conclude  him  dead. 

He  was  standing  one  evening  under  the  gate  of  his  Castle, 
when  he  perceived  afar  off  a  pilgrim  travelling  towards  the  man- 
sion. The  wayfaring  man  was  clad  in  a  strange  garb ;  and  his 
gait  and  gestures  the  Knight  thought  extremely  singular.  On 
his  approaching  nearer,  Wolfsburg  thought  that  he  knew  him ; 
and  at  last  he  became  convinced  that  the  stranger  was  no  other 
than  his  long-lost  friend,  the  Tannenhauser.  He  felt  amazed, 
and  a  secret  horror  took  possession  of  him,  as  he  recognised  dis- 
tinctly these  much-altered  features. 

The  two  friends  embraced  ;  then  started  back  next  moment ; 
and  gazed  astonished  at  each  other  as  at  unknown  beings.  Of 
questions,  of  perplexed  replies,  were  many.  Friedrich  often  shud- 
dered at  the  wild  look  of  his  friend,  which  seemed  to  burn  as  with 
unearthly  light.  The  Tannenhauser  had  reposed  himself  a  day 
or  two,  when  Friedrich  learned  that  he  was  on  a  pilgrimage  to 
Rome. 

The  two  friends  by  and  by  renewed  their  former  intimacy ; 
took  up  their  old  topics,  and  told  stories  to  each  other  of  their 
youth ;  but  the  Tannenhauser  always  carefully  concealed  where 
he  had  been  since  then.    Friedrich,  however,  pressed  him  to 


192 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


disclose  it,  now  that  they  were  once  more  on  their  ancient  con- 
fidential footing  :  the  other  long  endeavoured  to  ward  off  the 
friendly  prayer ;  but  at  last  he  exclaimed  :  "  Well,  be  it  so ;  thy 
will  be  done  !  Thou  shalt  know  all ;  but  cast  no  reproaches  on 
me  after,  should  the  story  fill  thee  with  inquietude  and  horror." 

They  went  into  the  open  air,  and  walked  a  little  in  a  green 
wood  of  the  pleasure-grounds,  where  at  last  they  sat  down ;  and 
now  the  Tannenhauser  hid  his  face  among  the  grass,  and,  with 
load  sobs,  held  back  his  right  hand  to  his  friend,  who  pressed  it 
tenderly  in  his.  The  woe- worn  pilgrim  raised  himself,  and  began 
his  story  in  the  following  words  : 

"  Believe  me,  Wolfsburg,  many  a  man  has,  at  his  birth,  an 
Evil  Spiiit  linked  to  him,  that  vexes  him  through  life,  and  never 
lets  him  rest,  till  he  has  reached  his  black  destination.  So  has 
it  been  with  me ;  my  whole  existence  has  been  but  a  continuing 
birth-pain,  and  my  awakening  will  be  in  Hell.  For  this  have  I 
already  wandered  so  many  weary  steps,  and  have  so  many  yet 
before  me  on  the  pilgrimage  which  I  am  making  to  the  Holy 
Father,  that  I  may  endeavour  to  obtain  forgiveness  at  Home.  In 
his  presence  will  I  lay  down  the  heavy  burden  of  my  sins ;  or  fall 
beneath  it,  and  die  despairing." 

Friedrich  attempted  to  console  him,  but  the  Tannenhauser 
seemed  to  pay  little  heed  to  what  he  said ;  and,  after  a  short 
while,  he  proceeded  in  the  following  words :  "  There  is  an  old 
legend  of  a  Knight  who  is  said  to  have  lived  many  centuries  ago, 
under  the  name  of  the  Trusty  Eckart.  They  tell  how,  in  those 
days,  a  Musician  issued  from  some  marvellous  Hill;  and,  by  his 
magic  tones,  awoke  in  the  hearts  of  all  that  heard  him  so  deep 
a  longing,  such  wild  wishes,  that  he  led  them  irresistibly  along 
with  his  music,  and  forced  them  to  rush  in  with  him  to  the  Hill. 
Hell  had  then  opened  wide  her  gates  to  poor  mortals,  and  enticed 
them  in  with  seductive  music.  In  boyhood  I  often  heard  this 
story,  and  at  first  without  particularly  minding  it ;  yet  ere  long 
it  so  took  hold  of  me,  that  all  Nature,  every  sound,  every  flower, 
recalled  to  me  the  story  of  these  heart- subduing  tones.  I  cannot 
tell  thee  what  a  sadness,  what  an  unutterable  longing  used  to 
seize  me,  when  I  looked  on  the  driving  of  the  clouds,  and  saw 
the  light  lordly  blue  peering  out  between  them ;  or  what  remem- 
brances the  meadows  and  the  woods  would  awaken  in  my  deepest 
heart.  Oftentimes  the  loveliness  and  fulness  of  royal  Nature  so 
affected  me,  that  I  stretched  out  my  arms,  as  if  to  fly  away  with 


THE  TRUSTY  ECKART. 


193 


wings ;  that  I  might  pour  myself  out  like  the  Spirit  of  Nature 
over  mountain  and  valley;  that  I  might  brood  over  grass  and 
forest,  and  inhale  the  riches  of  her  blessedness.  And  if  by  day 
the  free  landscape  charmed  me,  by  night  dark  dreaming  fantasies 
tormented  me ;  and  set  themselves  in  louring  grimness  before 
me,  as  if  to  shut  up  my  path  of  life  forever.  Aboye  all,  there  was 
one  dream  that  left  an  ineffaceable  impression  on  my  feelings, 
though  I  never  could  distinctly  call  the  forms  of  it  to  memory. 
Methought  there  was  a  vast  tumult  in  the  streets ;  I  heard  con- 
fused unintelligible  speaking ;  it  was  dark  night ;  I  went  to  my 
parents'  house  ;  none  but  my  father  was  there,  and  he  sick.  Next 
morning  I  clasped  my  parents  in  my  arms,  and  pressed  them  with 
melting  tenderness  to  my  breast,  as  if  some  hostile  power  had 
been  about  to  tear  them  from  me.  f  Am  I  to  lose  thee  ?'  said  I 
to  my  father.  '  0  !  how  wretched  and  lonely  were  I  without  thee 
in  this  world !'  They  tried  to  comfort  me,  but  could  not  wipe 
away  the  dim  image  from  my  remembrance. 

< '  I  grew  older,  still  keeping  myself  apart  from  other  boys  of 
my  age.  I  often  roamed  solitary  through  the  fields  :  and  it  hap- 
pened one  morning,  in  my  rambles,  that  I  had  lost  my  way ;  and 
so  was  wandering  to  and  fro  in  a  thick  wood,  not  knowing  whither 
to  turn.  After  long  seeking  vainly  for  a  road,  I  at  last  on  a  sud- 
den came  upon  an  iron- grated  fence,  within  which  lay  a  garden. 
Through  the  bars,  I  saw  fair  shady  walks  before  me ;  fruit-trees 
and  flowers ;  and  close  by  me  were  rose-bushes  glittering  in  the 
sun.  A  nameless  longing  for  these  roses  seized  me ;  I  could  not 
help  rushing  on ;  I  pressed  myself  by  force  through  between  the 
bars,  and  was  now  standing  in  the  garden.  Immediately  I  sank 
on  my  knees ;  clasped  the  bushes  in  my  arms ;  kissed  the  roses 
on  their  red  lips,  and  melted  into  tears.  I  had  knelt  a  while, 
absorbed  in  a  sort  of  rapture,  when  there  came  two  maidens 
through  the  alleys ;  the  one  of  my  own  years,  the  other  elder. 
I  awoke  from  my  trance,  to  fall  into  a  higher  ecstasy.  My  eye 
lighted  on  the  younger,  and  I  felt  at  this  moment  as  if  all  my 
unknown  woe  was  healed.  They  took  me  to  the  house ;  their 
parents,  having  learned  my  name,  sent  notice  to  my  father,  who, 
in  the  evening,  came  himself,  and  brought  me  back. 

' '  From  this  day,  the  uncertain  current  of  my  life  had  got  a 
fixed  direction ;  my  thoughts  forever  hastened  back  to  the  castle 
and  the  maiden ;  for  here,  it  seemed  to  me,  was  the  home  of  all 
my  wishes.    I  forgot  my  customary  pleasures,  I  forsook  my  play- 

VOL.  III.  o 


194 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


mates,  and  often  visited  the  garden,  the  castle  and  Emma.  Here 
I  had,  in  a  little  time,  grown,  as  it  were,  an  inmate  of  the  house, 
so  that  they  no  longer  thought  it  strange  to  see  me ;  and  Emma 
was  becoming  dearer  to  me  every  day.  Thus  passed  my  hours ; 
and  a  tenderness  had  taken  my  heart  captive,  though  I  myself 
was  not  aware  of  it.  My  whole  destination  seemed  to  me  ful- 
filled ;  I  had  no  wish  but  still  to  come  again ;  and  when  I  went 
away,  to  have  the  same  prospect  for  the  morrow. 

"  Matters  were  in  this  state,  when  a  young  knight  became 
acquainted  in  the  family  ;  he  was  a  friend  of  my  parents  ;  and  he 
soon,  like  me,  attached  himself  to  Emma.  I  hated  him,  from 
that  moment,  as  my  deadly  enemy ;  but  nothing  can  describe  my 
feelings,  when  I  fancied  I  perceived  that  Emma  liked  him  more 
than  me.  From  this  hour,  it  was  as  if  the  music,  which  had 
hitherto  accompanied  me,  went  silent  in  my  bosom.  I  meditated 
but  on  death  and  hatred ;  wild  thoughts  now  awoke  in  my  breast, 
when  Emma  sang  her  well-known  songs  to  her  lute.  Nor  did  I 
hide  the  aversion  which  I  felt ;  and  when  my  parents  tried  to 
reason  and  remonstrate  with  me,  I  grew  fierce  and  contradictory. 

"I  now  roved  about  the  woods  and  rocky  wastes,  infuriated 
against  myself.  The  death  of  my  rival  was  a  thing  I  had  deter- 
mined on.  The  young  knight,  after  some  few  months,  made  a 
formal  offer  of  himself  to  the  parents  of  my  mistress,  and  she  was 
betrothed  to  him.  All  that  was  rare  and  beautiful  in  Nature,  all 
that  had  charmed  me  in  her  magnificence,  had  been  united  in  my 
soul  with  Emma's  image  ;  I  fancied,  knew  or  wished  for  no  other 
happiness  but  Emma ;  nay  I  had  wilfully  determined  that  the 
day,  which  brought  the  loss  of  her,  should  also  bring  my  own 
destruction. 

"My  parents  sorrowed  in  heart  at  such  perversion;  my  mo- 
ther had  fallen  sick,  but  I  paid  no  heed  to  this ;  her  situation 
gave  me  little  trouble,  and  I  saw  her  seldom.  The  wedding-day 
of  my  enemy  was  coming  on  ;  and  with  its  approach  increased 
the  agony  of  mind  which  drove  me  over  woods  and  mountains. 
I  execrated  Emma  and  myself  with  the  most  horrid  curses.  At 
this  time  I  had  no  friend  ;  no  man  would  take  any  charge  of  me, 
for  all  had  given  me  up  for  lost. 

"  The  fearful  marriage-eve  came  on.  I  had  wandered  deep 
among  the  cliffs,  I  heard  the  rushing  of  the  forest-streams  below ; 
I  often  shuddered  at  myself.  When  the  morning  came,  I  saw  my 
enemy  proceeding  down  the  mountains  :  I  assailed  him  with  in- 


THE  TRUSTY  ECKART. 


195 


jurious  speeches;  he  replied;  we  drew  our  swords,  and  he  soon 
fell  beneath  my  furious  strokes. 

' '  I  hastened  on,  not  looking  after  him,  hut  his  attendants 
took  the  corpse  away.  At  night,  I  hovered  round  the  dwelling 
which  enclosed  my  Emma ;  and  a  few  days  afterwards,  I  heard 
in  the  neighbouring  cloister  the  sound  of  the  funeral-bell,  and  the 
grave-song  of  the  nuns.  I  inquired ;  and  was  told  that  Fraulein 
Emma,  out  of  sorrow  for  her  bridegroom's  death,  was  dead. 

' 1 1  could  stay  no  longer ;  I  doubted  whether  I  was  living, 
whether  it  was  all  truth  or  not.  I  hastened  back  to  my  parents  ; 
and  came  next  night,  at  a  late  hour,  to  the  town  where  they  lived. 
Here  all  was  in  confusion ;  horses  and  military  wagons  filled  the 
streets,  soldiers  were  jostling  one  another  this  way  and  that,  and 
speaking  in  disordered  haste :  the  Emperor  was  on  the  point  of 
undertaking  a  campaign  against  his  enemies.  A  solitary  light  was 
burning  in  my  father's  house  when  I  entered ;  a  strangling  op- 
pression lay  upon  my  breast.  As  I  knocked,  my  father  himself, 
with  slow,  thoughtful  steps,  advanced  to  meet  me ;  and  immedi- 
ately I  recollected  the  old  dream  of  my  childhood  ;  and  felt,  with 
cutting  emotion,  that  now  it  was  receiving  its  fulfilment.  In  per- 
plexity, I  asked  :  '  Why  are  you  up  so  late,  Father  ?'  He  led  me 
in,  and  said :  '  I  may  well  be  up,  for  thy  mother  is  even  now  dead.' 

"His  words  struck  through  my  soul  like  thunderbolts.  He 
took  a  seat  with  a  meditative  air ;  I  sat  down  beside  him.  The 
corpse  was  lying  in  a  bed,  and  strangely  wound  in  linen.  My 
heart  was  like  to  burst.  '  I  wake  here,'  said  the  old  man,  '  for 
my  wife  is  still  sitting  by  me.'  My  senses  failed;  I  fixed  my 
eyes  upon  a  corner ;  and,  after  a  little  while,  there  rose,  as  it  were, 
a  vapour ;  it  mounted  and  wavered ;  and  the  well-known  figure  of 
my  mother  gathered  itself  visibly  together  from  the  midst  of  it, 
and  looked  at  me  with  an  earnest  mien.  I  wished  to  go,  but  I 
could  not ;  for  the  form  of  my  mother  beckoned  to  me,  and  my 
father  held  me  in  his  arms,  and  whispered  to  me,  in  a  low  voice  : 
'  She  died  of  grief  for  thee.'  I  embraced  him  with  a  childlike 
transport  of  affection  ;  I  poured  burning  tears  on  his  breast.  He 
kissed  me ;  and  I  shuddered ;  for  his  Hps,  as  they  touched  me, 
were  cold,  like  the  lips  of  one  dead.  '  How  art  thou,  Father  ?' 
cried  I,  in  horror.  He  writhed  painfully  together,  and  made  no 
reply.  In  a  few  moments,  I  felt  him  growing  colder ;  I  laid  my 
hand  on  his  heart,  but  it  was  still ;  and,  in  wailing  delirium,  I 
held  the  body  fast  clasped  in  my  embrace. 


196 


LUDWIG  TIECK, 


"  As  it  were  a  gleam,  like  the  first  streak  of  dawn,  went  through 
the  dark  room ;  and  behold,  the  spirit  of  my  father  sat  beside  my 
mother's  form  ;  and  both  looked  at  me  compassionately,  as  I  held 
the  dear  corpse  in  my  arms.  After  this  my  consciousness  was 
over  :  exhausted  and  delirious,  the  servants  found  me  next  morn- 
ing in  the  chamber  of  the  dead." 

So  far  the  Tannenhauser  had  proceeded  with  his  narrative  : 
Friedrich  was  listening  to  him  with  the  deepest  astonishment, 
when  all  on  a  sudden  he  broke  off,  and  paused  with  an  expression 
of  the  keenest  pain.  Friedrich  felt  embarrassed  and  immersed 
in  thought ;  they  both  returned  in  company  to  the  Castle,  but 
stayed  in  the  same  room  apart  from  others. 

The  Tannenhauser  had  kept  silence  for  a  while,  then  he  again 
began  :  "  The  remembrance  of  those  hours  still  agitates  me 
deeply:  I  understand  not  how  I  have  survived  them.  The  world, 
and  its  life,  now  appeared  to  me  as  if  dead  and  utterly  desolate ; 
without  thoughts  or  wishes  I  lived  on  from  day  to  day.  I  then 
became  acquainted  with  a  set  of  wild  young  people ;  and  endea- 
voured, in  the  whirl  of  pleasure  and  intoxication,  to  lay  the  tu- 
multuous Evil  Spirit  that  was  in  me.  My  ancient  burning  impa- 
tience again  awoke  ;  and  I  could  no  longer  understand  myself  or 
my  wishes.  A  debauchee,  named  Rudolf,  had  become  my  con- 
fidant ;  he,  however,  always  laughed  to  scorn  my  longings  and 
complaints.  About  a  year  had  passed  in  this  way,  when  my 
misery  of  spirit  rose  to  desperation ;  there  was  something  drove 
me  onwards,  onwards,  into  unknown  space ;  I  could  have  dashed 
myself  down  from  the  high  mountains  into  the  glowing  green  of 
the  meadows,  into  the  cool  rushing  of  the  waters,  to  slake  the 
burning  thirst,  to  stay  the  insatiability  of  my  soul :  I  longed  for 
annihilation ;  and  again,  like  golden  morning  clouds,  did  hope 
and  love  of  life  arise  before  me,  and  entice  me  on.  The  thought 
then  struck  me,  that  Hell  was  hungering  for  me,  and  was  sending 
me  my  sorrows  as  well  as  my  pleasures  to  destroy  me  ;  that  some 
malignant  Spirit  was  directing  all  the  powers  of  my  soul  to  the 
Infernal  Abode ;  and  leading  me,  as  with  a  bridle,  to  my  doom. 
And  I  surrendered  to  him ;  that  so  these  torments,  these  alter- 
nating raptures  and  agonies,  might  leave  me.  In  the  darkest 
night,  I  mounted  a  lofty  hill ;  and  called  on  the  Enemy  of  God 
and  man,  with  all  the  energies  of  my  heart,  so  that  I  felt  he 
would  be  forced  to  hear  me.  My  words  brought  him  :  he  stood 
suddenly  before  me,  and  I  felt  no  horror.    Then  in  talking  with 


THE  TRUSTY  ECKART. 


197 


him,  the  belief  in  that  strange  Hill  again  rose  within  me ;  and 
he  taught  me  a  Song,  which  of  itself  would  lead  me  by  the  straight 
road  thither.  He  disappeared,  and  for  the  first  time  since  I  had 
begun  to  live,  I  was  alone  with  myself ;  for  I  now  understood  my 
wandering  thoughts,  which  rushed  as  from  a  centre  to  find  out 
another  world.  I  set  forth  on  my  journey ;  and  the  Song,  which 
I  sang  with  a  loud  voice,  led  me  over  strange  deserts ;  but  all 
other  things  besides  myself  I  had  forgotten.  There  was  some- 
thing carrying  me,  as  on  the  strong  wings  of  desire,  to  my  home  : 
I  wished  to  escape  the  shadow  which,  amid  the  sunshine,  threatens 
us  ;  the  wild  tones  which,  amid  the  softest  music,  chide  us.  So 
travelling  on,  I  reached  the  Mountain,  one  night  when  the  moon 
was  shining  faintly  from  behind  dim  clouds.  I  proceeded  with 
my  Song ;  and  a  giant  form  stood  by  me,  and  beckoned  me  back 
with  his  staff.  I  went  nearer  :  '  I  am  the  Trusty  Eckart,'  said 
the  superhuman  figure ;  '  by  God's  goodness,  I  am  placed  here 
as  watchman,  to  warn  men  back  from  their  sinful  rashness.' — 
I  pressed  through. 

"  My  path  was  now  as  in  a  subterraneous  mine.  The  passage 
was  so  narrow,  that  I  had  to  press  myself  along ;  I  caught  the 
gurgling  of  hidden  waters  ;  I  heard  spirits  forming  ore,  and  gold 
and  silver,  to  entice  the  soul  of  man ;  I  found  here  concealed  and 
separate  the  deep  sounds  and  tones  from  which  earthly  music 
springs :  the  farther  I  went,  the  more  did  there  fall,  as  it  were, 
a  veil  from  my  sight. 

"I  rested,  and  saw  other  forms  of  men  come  gliding  to- 
wards me ;  my  friend  Rudolf  was  among  the  number.  I  could 
not  understand  how  they  were  to  pass  me,  so  narrow  was  the 
way ;  but  they  went  along,  through  the  middle  of  the  rock,  with- 
out perceiving  me. 

"  Anon  I  heard  the  sound  of  music  ;  but  music  altogether  dif- 
ferent from  any  that  had  ever  struck  my  ear  before.  My  thoughts 
within  me  strove  towards  the  notes :  I  came  into  an  open  space ; 
and  strange  radiant  colours  glittered  on  me  from  every  side.  This 
it  was  that  I  had  always  been  in  search  of.  Close  to  my  heart  I 
felt  the  presence  of  the  long-sought,  now-discovered  glory ;  and  its 
ravishments  thrilled  into  me  with  all  their  power.  And  then  the 
whole  crowd  of  jocund  Pagan  gods  came  forth  to  meet  me,  Lady 
Venus  at  their  head,  and  all  saluted  me.  They  have  been  banished 
thither  by  the  power  of  the  Almighty ;  their  worship  is  abolished 
from  the  Earth ;  and  now  they  work  upon  us  from  their  concealment. 


198 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


"  All  pleasures  that  Earth  affords  I  here -possessed  and  par- 
took of  in  their  fullest  bloom ;  insatiable  was  my  heart,  and  end- 
less my  enjoyment.  The  famed  Beauties  of  the  ancient  world 
were  present ;  what  my  thought  coveted  was  mine  ;  one  delirium 
of  rapture  was  followed  by  another  ;  and  day  after  day,  the  world 
appeared  to  burn  round  me  in  more  glorious  hues.  Streams  of 
the  richest  wine  allayed  my  fierce  thirst ;  and  beauteous  forms 
sported  in  the  air,  and  soft  eyes  invited  me ;  vapours  rose  en- 
chanting around  my  head  :  as  if  from  the  inmost  heart  of  blissful 
Nature,  came  a  music  and  cooled  with  its  fresh  waves  the  wild 
tumult  of  desire  ;  and  a  horror,  that  glided  faint  and  secret  over 
the  rose-fields,  heightened  the  delicious  revel.  How  many  years 
passed  over  me  in  this  abode  I  know  not :  for  here  there  was  no 
time  and  no  distinctions  ;  the  flowers  here  glowed  with  the  charms 
of  women  ;  and  in  the  forms  of  the  women  bloomed  the  magic  of 
flowers ;  colours  here  had  another  language ;  the  whole  world  of 
sense  was  bound  together  into  one  blossom,  and  the  spirits  within 
it  forever  held  their  rejoicing. 

"  Now,  how  it  happened,  I  can  neither  say  nor  comprehend; 
but  so  it  was,  that  in  all  this  pomp  of  sin,  a  love  of  rest,  a  long- 
ing for  the  old  innocent  Earth,  with  her  scanty  joys,  took  hold 
of  me  here,  as  keenly  as  of  old  the  impulse  which  had  driven  me 
hither.  I  was  again  drawn  on  to  live  that  life  which  men,  in 
their  unconsciousness,  go  on  leading :  I  was  sated  with  this 
splendour,  and  gladly  sought  my  former  home  once  more.  An 
unspeakable  grace  of  the  Almighty  permitted  my  return ;  I  found 
myself  suddenly  again  in  the  world ;  and  now  it  is  my  intention 
to  pour  out  my  guilty  breast  before  the  chair  of  our  Holy  Father 
in  Rome ;  that  so  he  may  forgive  me,  and  I  may  again  be  reck- 
oned among  men." 

The  Tannenhauser  ceased ;  and  Friedrich  long  viewed  him 
with  an  investigating  look,  then  took  his  hand,  and  said:  "  I 
cannot  yet  recover  from  my  wonder,  nor  can  I  understand  thy 
narrative ;  for  it  is  impossible  that  all  thou  hast  told  me  can  be 
aught  but  an  imagination.  Emma  still  lives,  she  is  my  wife ; 
thou  and  I  never  quarrelled,  or  hated  one  another,  as  thou  think  - 
est :  yet  before  our  marriage,  thou  wert  gone  on  a  sudden  from 
the  neighbourhood ;  nor  didst  thou  ever  tell  me,  by  a  single  hint, 
that  Emma  was  dear  to  thee." 

Hereupon  he  took  the  bewildered  Tannenhauser  by  the  hand, 
and  led  him  into  another  room  to  his  wife,  who  had  just  then  re- 


THE  TRUSTY  ECKART. 


199 


turned  from  a  visit  to  her  sister,  which  had  kept  her  for  the  last 
few  days  from  home.  The  Tannenhauser  spoke  not,  and  seemed 
immersed  in  thought ;  he  viewed  in  silence  the  form  and  face  of 
the  lady,  then  shook  his  head,  and  said:  "By  Heaven,  that  is 
the  strangest  incident  of  all !" 

Friedrich,  with  precision  and  connectedness,  related  all  that 
had  befallen  him  since  that  time ;  and  tried  to  make  his  friend 
perceive  that  it  had  been  some  singular  madness  which  had,  in 
the  mean  while,  harassed  him.  "  I  know  very  well  how  it  stands," 
exclaimed  the  Tannenhauser.  "  It  is  now  that  I  am  crazy;  and 
Hell  has  cast  this  juggling  show  before  me,  that  I  may  not  go  to 
Rome,  and  seek  the  pardon  of  my  sins." 

Emma  tried  to  bring  his  childhood  to  his  recollection ;  but 
the  Tannenhauser  would  not  be  persuaded.  He  speedily  set  out 
on  his  journey ;  that  he  might  the  sooner  get  his  absolution  from 
the  Pope. 

Friedrich  and  Emma  often  spoke  of  the  mysterious  pilgrim. 
Some  months  had  gone  by,  when  the  Tannenhauser,  pale  and 
wasted,  in  a  tattered  pilgrim's  dress,  and  barefoot,  one  morning 
entered  Friedrich' s  chamber,  while  the  latter  was  in  bed  asleep. 
He  kissed  his  lips,  and  then  said,  in  breathless  haste  :  "  The 
Holy  Father  cannot,  and  will  not,  forgive  me ;  I  must  back  to 
my  old  dwelling."    And  with  this  he  went  hurriedly  away. 

Friedrich  roused  himself;  but  the  ill-fated  pilgrim  was  already 
gone.  He  went  to  his  lady's  room ;  and  her  maids  rushed  out 
to  meet  him,  crying  that  the  Tannenhauser  had  pressed  into  the 
apartment  early  in  the  morning,  with  the  words  :  ' '  She  shall  not 
obstruct  me  in  my  course  !" — Emma  was  lying  murdered. 

Friedrich  had  not  yet  recalled  his  thoughts,  when  a  horror 
came  over  him :  he  could  not  rest ;  he  ran  into  the  open  air. 
They  wished  to  keep  him  bs-ck ;  but  he  told  them  that  the  pil- 
grim had  kissed  his  lips,  and  that  the  kiss  was  burning  him  till 
he  found  the  man  again.  And  so,  with  inconceivable  rapidity, 
he  ran  away  to  seek  the  Tannenhauser,  and  the  mysterious  Hill ; 
and,  since  that  day,  he  was  never  seen  any  more.  People  say, 
that  whoever  gets  a  kiss  from  any  emissary  of  the  Hill,  is  thence- 
forth unable  to  withstand  the  lure  that  draws  him  with  magic 
force  into  the  subterraneous  chasm. 


THE  RUNENBERG. 


A  young  hunter  was  sitting  in  the  heart  of  the  Mountains,  in  a 
thoughtful  mood,  beside  his  fowling-floor,  while  the  noise  of  the 
waters  and  the  woods  was  sounding  through  the  solitude.  He 
was  musing  on  his  destiny ;  how  he  was  so  young,  and  had  for- 
saken his  father  and  mother,  and  accustomed  home,  and  all  his 
comrades  in  his  native  village,  to  seek  out  new  acquaintances,  to 
escape  from  the  circle  of  returning  habitude ;  and  he  looked  up 
with  a  sort  of  surprise  that  he  was  here,  that  he  found  himself 
in  this  valley,  in  this  employment.  Great  clouds  were  passing 
over  him,  and  sinking  behind  the  mountains  ;  birds  were  singiug 
from  the  bushes,  and  an  echo  was  replying  to  them.  He  slowly 
descended  the  hill ;  and  seated  himself  on  the  margin  of  a  brook, 
that  was  gushing  down  among  the  rocks  with  foamy  murmur. 
He  listened  to  the  fitful  melody  of  the  water ;  and  it  seemed  to 
him  as  if  the  waves  were  saying  to  him,  in  unintelligible  words, 
a  thousand  things  that  concerned  him  nearly ;  and  he  felt  an  in- 
ward trouble  that  he  could  not  understand  their  speeches.  Then 
again  he  looked  aloft,  and  thought  that  he  was  glad  and  happy ; 
so  he  took  new  heart,  and  sang  aloud  this  hunting-song : 

Blithe  and  cheery  through  the  mountains 

Goes  the  huntsman  to  the  chase, 
By  the  lonesome  shady  fountains, 

Till  he  finds  the  red-deer's  trace. 

Hark !  his  trusty  dogs  are  haying 

Through  the  hright-green  solitude ; 
Through  the  groves  the  horns  are  playing: 

0,  thou  merry  gay  green  wood ! 

In  some  dell,  when  luck  hath  hlest  him, 

And  his  shot  hath  stretch'd  the  deer, 
Lies  he  down,  content,  to  rest  him, 

While  the  hrooks  are  murmuring  clear, 


THE  RUNENBERG. 


201 


Leave  the  husbandman  his  sowing, 

Let  the  shipman  sail  the  sea ; 
None,  when  bright  the  morn  is  glowing, 

Sees  its  red  so  fair  as  he, 

Wood  and  wold  and  game  that  prizes, 

While  Diana  loves  his  art ; 
And,  at  last,  some  bright  face  rises : 

Happy  huntsman  that  thou  art ! 

Whilst  he  sung,  the  sun  had  sunk  deeper,  and  broad  shadows 
fell  across  the  narrow  glen.  A  cooling  twilight  glided  over  the 
ground ;  and  now  only  the  tops  of  the  trees,  and  the  round  sum- 
mits of  the  mountains,  were  gilded  by  the  glow  of  evening.  Chris- 
tian's heart  grew  sadder  and  sadder :  he  could  not  think  of  going 
back  to  his  birdfold,  and  yet  he  could  not  stay ;  he  felt  himself 
alone,  and  longed  to  meet  with  men.  '  He  now  remembered  with 
regret  those  old  books,  which  he  used  to  see  at  home,  and  would 
never  read,  often  as  his  father  had  advised  him  to  it :  the  habita- 
tion of  his  childhood  came  before  him,  his  sports  with  the  youth 
of  the  village,  his  acquaintances  among  the  children,  the  school 
that  had  afflicted  him  so  much  ;  and  he  wished  he  were  again 
amid  these  scenes,  which  he  had  wilfully  forsaken,  to  seek  his 
fortune  in  unknown  regions,  in  the  mountains,  among  strange 
people,  in  a  new  employment.  Meanwhile  it  grew  darker ;  and 
the  brook  rushed  louder ;  and  the  birds  of  night  began  to  shoot, 
with  fitful  wing,  along  their  mazy  courses.  Christian  still  sat 
disconsolate,  and  immersed  in  sad  reflection  ;  he  was  like  to 
weep,  and  altogether  undecided  what  to  do  or  purpose.  Un- 
thinkingly, he  pulled  a  straggling  root  from  the  earth ;  and  on 
the  instant,  heard,  with  affright,  a  stifled  moan  underground, 
which  winded  downwards  in  doleful  tones,  and  died  plaintively 
away  in  the  deep  distance.  The  sound  went  through  his  inmost 
heart ;  it  seized  him  as  if  he  had  unwittingly  touched  the  wound, 
of  which  the  dying  frame  of  Nature  was  expiring  in  its  agony. 
He  started  up  to  fly ;  for  he  had  already  heard  of  the  mysterious 
mandrake-root,  which,  when  torn,  yields  such  heart-rending  moans, 
that  the  person  who  has  hurt  it  runs  distracted  by  its  wailing.  As 
he  turned  to  go,  a  stranger  man  was  standing  at  his  back,  who 
looked  at  him  with  a  friendly  countenance,  and  asked  him  whither 
he  was  going.  Christian  had  been  longing  for  society,  and  yet  he 
started  in  alarm  at  this  friendly  presence. 

"  Whither  so  fast  ?"  said  the  stranger  again. 

The  young  hunter  made  an  effort  to  collect  himself,  and  told 


202 


LTJDWIG  TIECK. 


how  all  at  once  the  solitude  had  seemed  so  frightful  to  him,  he 
had  meant  to  get  away ;  the  evening  was  so  dark,  the  green 
shades  of  the  wood  so  dreary,  the  "brook  seemed  uttering  lament- 
ations, and  his  longing  drew  him  over  to  the  other  side  of  the 
hills. 

"  You  are  but  young,"  said  the  stranger,  "  and  cannot  yet 
endure  the  rigour  of  solitude  :  I  will  accompany  you,  for  you  will 
find  no  house  or  hamlet  within  a  league  of  this  ;  and  in  the  way 
we  may  talk,  and  tell  each  other  tales,  and  so  your  sad  thoughts 
will  leave  you  :  in  an  hour  the  moon  will  rise  behind  the  hills  ; 
its  light  also  will  help  to  chase  away  the  darkness  of  your  mind." 

They  went  along,  and  the  stranger  soon  appeared  to  Christian 
as  if  he  had  been  an  old  acquaintance.  "Who  are  you?"  said 
the  man  ;  "  by  your  speech  I  hear  that  you  belong  not  to  this 
part." 

"  Ah !"  replied  the  other,  "  upon  this  I  could  say  much,  and 
yet  it  is  not  worth  the  telling  you,  or  talking  of.  There  was  some- 
thing dragged  me,  with  a  foreign  force,  from  the  circle  of  my 
parents  and  relations  ;  my  spirit  was  not  master  of  itself :  like  a 
bird  which  is  taken  in  a  net,  and  struggles  to  no  purpose,  so  my 
soul  was  meshed  in  strange  imaginations  and  desires.  We  dwelt 
far  hence,  in  a  plain,  where  all  round  you  could  see  no  hill,  scarce 
even  a  height  :  few  trees  adorned  the  green  level ;  but  meadows, 
fertile  corn-fields,  gardens  stretched  away  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach ;  and  a  broad  river  glittered  like  a  potent  spirit  through  the 
midst  of  them.  My  father  was  gardener  to  a  nobleman,  and  meant 
to  breed  me  to  the  same  employment.  He  delighted  in  plants  and 
flowers  beyond  aught  else,  and  could  unweariedly  pass  day  by  day 
in  watching  them  and  tending  them.  Nay  he  went  so  far  as  to 
maintain,  that  he  could  almost  speak  with  them  ;  that  he  got 
knowledge  from  their  growth  and  spreading,  as  well  as  from  the 
varied  form  and  colour  of  their  leaves.  To  me,  however,  garden- 
ing was  a  tiresome  occupation;  and  the  more  so  as  my  father  kept 
persuading  me  to  take  it  up,  or  even  attempted  to  compel  me  to  it 
with  threats.  I  wished  to  be  a  fisherman,  and  tried  that  business 
for  a  time ;  but  a  life  on  the  waters  would  not  suit  me :  I  was  then 
apprenticed  to  a  tradesman  in  the  town ;  but  soon  came  home  from 
this  employment  also.  My  father  happened  to  be  talking  of  the 
Mountains,  which  he  had  travelled  over  in  his  youth  ;  of  the  sub- 
terranean mines  and  their  workmen  ;  of  hunters  and  their  occupa- 
tion ;  and  that  instant  there  arose  in  me  the  most  decided  wish. 


THE  RUNENBERG. 


203 


the  feeling  that  at  last  I  had  found  out  the  way  of  life  which  would 
entirely  fit  me.  Day  and  night  I  meditated  on  the  matter;  repre- 
senting to  myself  high  mountains,  chasms  and  pine-forests ;  my 
imagination  shaped  wild  rocks  ;  I  heard  the  tumult  of  the  chase, 
the  horns,  the  cry  of  the  hounds  and  the  game  ;  all  my  dreams 
were  filled  with  these  things,  and  they  left  me  neither  peace  nor 
rest  any  more.  The  plain,  our  patron's  castle,  and  my  father's 
little  hampered  garden,  with  its  trimmed  flower-heds  ;  our  narrow 
dwelling ;  the  wide  sky  which  stretched  ahove  us  in  its  dreary 
vastness,  embracing  no  hill,  no  lofty  mountain,  all  became  more 
dull  and  odious  to  me.  It  seemed  as  if  the  people  about  me  were 
living  in  most  lamentable  ignorance  ;  that  every  one  of  them  would 
think  and  long  as  I  did,  should  the  feeling  of  their  wretchedness 
but  once  arise  within  their  souls.  Thus  did  I  bait  my  heart  with 
restless  fancies;  till  one  morning  I  resolved  on  leaving  my  father's 
house  directly  and  forever.  In  a  book  I  had  found  some  notice 
of  the  nearest  mountains,  some  charts  of  the  neighbouring  dis- 
tricts, and  by  them  I  shaped  my  course.  It  was  early  in  spring, 
and  I  felt  myself  cheerful,  and  altogether  light  of  heart.  I  hastened 
on,  to  get  away  the  faster  from  the  level  country ;  and  one  even- 
ing, in  the  distance,  I  descried  the  dim  outline  of  the  Mountains, 
lying  on  the  sky  before  me.  I  could  scarcely  sleep  in  my  inn,  so 
impatient  did  I  feel  to  have  my  foot  upon  the  region  which  I  re- 
garded as  my  home  :  with  the  earliest  dawn  I  was  awake,  and 
again  in  motion.  By  the  afternoon,  I  had  got  among  my  beloved 
hills;  and  here,  as  if  intoxicated,  I  went  on,  then  stopped  a  while, 
looked  back  ;  and  drank,  as  in  inspiring  draughts,  the  aspect  of 
these  foreign  yet  well-known  objects.  Ere  long,  the  plain  was 
out  of  sight ;  the  forest-streams  were  rushing  down  to  meet  me ; 
the  oaks  and  beeches  sounded  to  me  from  their  steep  precipices 
with  wavering  boughs  ;  my  path  led  me  by  the  edge  of  dizzy 
abysses;  blue  hills  were  standing  vast  and  solemn  in  the  distance. 
A  new  world  was  opened  to  me  ;  I  was  never  weary.  Thus,  after 
some  days,  having  roamed  over  great  part  of  the  Mountains,  I 
reached  the  dwelling  of  an  old  forester,  who  consented,  at  my 
urgent  request,  to  take  me  in,  and  instruct  me  in  the  business  of 
the  chase.  It  is  now  three  months  since  I  entered  his  service.  I 
took  possession  of  the  district  where  I  was  to  live,  as  of  my 
kingdom.  I  got  acquainted  with  every  cliff  and  dell  among  the 
mountains ;  in  my  occupation,  when  at  dawn  of  day  we  moved  to 
the  forest,  when  felling  trees  in  the  wood,  when  practising  my 


204 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


fowling-piece,  or  training  my  trusty  attendants,  our  dogs,  to  do 
their  feats,  I  felt  completely  happy.  But  for  the  last  eight  days  I 
have  stayed  up  here  at  the  fowling-floor,  in  the  loneliest  quarter  of 
the  hills  ;  and  tonight  I  grew  so  sad  as  I  never  was  in  my  life 
before  ;  I  seemed  so  lost,  so  utterly  unhappy ;  and  even  yet  I 
cannot  shake  aside  that  melancholy  humour." 

The  stranger  had  listened  with  attention,  while  they  both 
wandered  on  through  a  dark  alley  of  the  wood.  They  now  came 
out  into  the  open  country,  and  the  light  of  the  moon,  which  was 
standing  with  its  horns  over  the  summit  of  the  hill,  saluted  them 
like  a  friend.  In  undistinguishahle  forms,  and  many  separated 
masses,  which  the  pale  gleam  again  perplexingly  combined,  lay 
the  cleft  mountain -range  before  them  ;  in  the  background  a  steep 
hill,  on  the  top  of  which  an  antique  weathered  ruin  rose  ghastly 
in  the  white  light.  "  Our  roads  part  here,"  said  the  stranger ; 
"  I  am  going  down  into  this  hollow  ;  there,  by  that  old  mine- 
shaft,  is  my  dwelling  :  the  metal  ores  are  my  neighbours  ;  the 
mine-streams  tell  me  winders  in  the  night ;  thither  thou  canst 
not  follow  me.  But  look,  there  stands  the  Runenberg,  with  its 
wild  ragged  walls  ;  how  beautiful  and  alluring  the  grim  old  rock 
looks  down  on  us  !    Wert  thou  never  there  ?" 

"Never,"  said  the  hunter.  "  Once  I  heard  my  old  forester 
relating  strange  stories  of  that  hill,  which  I,  like  a  fool,  have  for- 
gotten ;  only  I  remember  that  my  mind  that  night  was  full  of 
dread  and  unearthly  notions.  I  could  like  to  mount  the  hill  some 
time ;  for  the  colours  there  are  of  the  fairest,  the  grass  must  be 
very  green,  the  world  around  one  very  strange ;  who  knows,  too, 
but  one  might  chance  to  find  some  curious  relic  of  the  ancient 
time  up  there  ?" 

"You  could  scarcely  fail,"  replied  the  stranger;  "whoever 
knows  how  to  seek,  whoever  feels  his  heart  drawn  towards  it  with 
a  right  inward  longing,  will  find  friends  of  former  ages  there,  and 
glorious  things,  and  all  that  he  wishes  most."  With  these  words 
the  stranger  rapidly  descended  to  a  side,  without  bidding  his  com- 
panion farewell ;  he  soon  vanished  in  the  tangles  of  the  thicket, 
and  after  some  few  instants,  the  sound  of  his  footsteps  also  died 
away.  The  young  hunter  did  not  feel  surprised,  he  but  went  on 
with  quicker  speed  towards  the  Runenberg :  thither  all  things 
seemed  to  beckon  him ;  the  stars  wTere  shining  towards  it ;  the 
moon  pointed  out  as  it  were  a  bright  road  to  the  ruins ;  light 
clouds  rose  up  to  them ;  and  from  the  depths,  the  waters  and 


THE  RUNENBERG. 


205 


mounding  woods  spoke  new  courage  into  him.  His  steps  were  as 
if  winged ;  his  heart  throbbed ;  he  felt  so  great  a  joy  within  him, 
that  it  rose  to  pain.  He  came  into  places  he  had  never  seen  be- 
fore ;  the  rocks  grew  steeper ;  the  green  disappeared ;  the  bald 
cliffs  called  to  him,  as  with  angry  voices,  and  a  lone  moaning  wind 
drove  him  on  before  it.  Thus  he  hurried  forward  without  pause  ; 
and  late  after  midnight  he  came  upon  a  narrow  footpath,  which 
ran  along  by  the  brink  of  an  abyss.  He  heeded  not  the  depth 
which  yawned  beneath,  and  threatened  to  swallow  him  forever ; 
so  keenly  was  he  driven  along  by  wild  imaginations  and  vague 
wishes.  At  last  his  perilous  track  led  him  close  by  a  high  wall, 
which  seemed  to  lose  itself  in  the  clouds  ;  the  path  grew  narrower 
every  step  ;  and  Christian  had  to  cling  by  projecting  stones  to 
keep  himself  from  rushing  down  into  the  gulf.  Ere  long,  he  could 
get  no  farther ;  his  path  ended  underneath  a  window  :  he  was 
obliged  to  pause,  and  knew  not  whether  he  should  turn  or  stay. 
Suddenly  he  saw  a  light,  which  seemed  to  move  within  the  ruined 
edifice.  He  looked  towards  the  gleam  ;  and  found  that  he  could 
see  into  an  ancient  spacious  hall,  strangely  decorated,  and  glitter- 
ing in  manifold  splendour,  with  multitudes  of  precious  stones  and 
crystals,  the  hues  of  which  played  through  each  other  in  myste- 
rious changes,  as  the  light  moved  to  and  fro ;  and  this  was  in  the 
hand  of  a  stately  female,  who  kept  walking  with  a  thoughtful 
aspect  up  and  down  the  apartment.  She  seemed  of  a  different 
race  from  mortals ;  so  large,  so  strong  was  her  form,  so  earnest 
her  look  ;  yet  the  enraptured  huntsman  thought  he  had  never 
seen  or  fancied  such  surpassing  beauty.  He  trembled,  yet  secretly 
wished  she  might  come  near  the  window  and  observe  him.  At 
last  she  stopped,  set  down  the  light  on  a  crystal  table,  looked 
aloft,  and  sang  with  a  piercing  voice : 

What  can  the  Ancient  keep 

That  they  come  not  at  my  call  ? 

The  crystal  pillars  weep, 

From  the  diamonds  on  the  wall 

The  trickling  tear-drops  fall ; 

And  within  is  heard  a  moan, 

A  chiding  fitful  tone  : 

In  these  waves  of  hrightness, 

Lovely  changeful  lightness, 

Has  the  Shape  heen  form'd, 

By  which  the  souj-is  charm'd, 

And  the  longing  heart  is  warm'd- 

Come,  ye  Spirits,  at  my  call, 

Haste  ye  to  the  Golden  Hall;  * 


206 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


Baise,  from  your  abysses  gloomy, 

Heads  that  sparkle;  faster 

Come,  ye  Ancient  Ones,  come  to  mo  ! 

Let  your  power  be  master 

Of  the  longing  hearts  and  souls, 

Where  the  flood  of  passion  rolls, 

Let  your  power  be  master ! 

On  finishing  the  song,  she  "began  undressing ;  laying  her  ap- 
parel in  a  costly  press.  First,  she  took  a  golden  veil  from  her 
head ;  and  her  long  black  hair  streamed  down  in  curling  fulness 
over  her  loins  :  then  she  loosed  her  bosom-dress ;  and  the  youth 
forgot  himself  and  all  the  world  in  gazing  at  that  more  than 
earthly  beauty.  He  scarcely  dared  to  breathe,  as  by  degrees  she 
laid  aside  her  other  garments :  at  last  she  walked  about  the  cham- 
ber naked ;  and  her  heavy  waving  locks  formed  round  her,  as  it 
were,  a  dark  billowy  sea,  out  of  which,  like  marble,  the  glancing 
limbs  of  her  form  beamed  forth,  in  alternating  splendour.  After 
a  while,  she  went  forward  to  another  golden  press  ;  and  took  from 
it  a  tablet,  glittering  with  many  inlaid  stones,  rubies,  diamonds 
and  all  kinds  of  jewels  ;  and  viewed  it  long  with  an  investigating 
look.  The  tablet  seemed  to  form  a  strange  inexplicable  figure, 
from  its  individual  lines  and  colours  ;  sometimes,  when  the  glance 
of  it  came  towards  the  hunter,  he  was  painfully  dazzled  by  it ; 
then,  again,  soft  green  and  blue  playing  over  it,  refreshed  his 
eye :  he  stood,  however,  devouring  the  objects  with  his  looks, 
and  at  the  same  time  sunk  in  deep  thought.  Within  his  soul, 
an  abyss  of  forms  and  harmony,  of  longing  and  voluptuousness, 
was  opened  :  hosts  of  winged  tones,  and  sad  and  joyful  melodies 
flew  through  his  spirit,  which  was  moved  to  its  foundations  :  he 
saw  a  world  of  Pain  and  Hope  arise  within  him ;  strong  towering 
crags  of  Trust  and  defiant  Confidence,  and  deep  rivers  of  Sadness 
flowing  by.  He  no  longer  knew  himself :  and  he  started  as  the 
fair  woman  opened  the  window ;  handed  him  the  magic  tablet  of 
stones,  and  spoke  these  words  :  "  Take  this  in  memory  of  me  !" 
He  caught  the  tablet ;  and  felt  the  figure,  which,  unseen,  at  once 
went  through  his  inmost  heart ;  and  the  light,  and  the  fair  woman, 
and  the  wondrous  hall,  had  disappeared.  As  it  were,  a  dark  night, 
with  curtains  of  cloud,  fell  down  over  his  soul :  he  searched  for 
his  former  feelings,  for  that  inspiration  and  unutterable  love ;  he 
looked  at  the  precious  tablet,  and  the  sinking  moon  was  imaged 
in  it  faint  and  bluish.  - 

He  had  still  the  tablet  firmly  grasped  in  his  hands  when  the 


THE  RUNENBERG. 


207 


morning  dawned ;  and  he,  exhausted,  giddy  and  half-asleep,  fell 
headlong  down  the  precipice. — 

The  sun  shone  bright  on  the  face  of  the  stupefied  sleeper ; 
and,  awakening,  he  found  himself  upon  a  pleasant  hill.  He  looked 
round,  and  saw  far  behind  him,  and  scarce  discernible  at  the  ex- 
treme horizon,  the  ruins  of  the  Eunenberg ;  he  searched  for  his 
tablet,  and  could  find  it  nowhere.  Astonished  and  perplexed,  he 
tried  to  gather  his  thoughts,  and  connect  together  his  remem- 
brances ;  but  his  memory  was  as  if  filled  with  a  waste  haze,  in 
which  vague  irrecognisable  shapes  were  wildly  jostling  to  and  fro. 
His  whole  previous  life  lay  behind  him,  as  in  a  far  distance ;  the 
strangest  and  the  commonest  were  so  mingled,  that  all  his  efforts 
could  not  separate  them.  After  long  struggling  with  himself,  he 
at  last  concluded  that  a  dream,  or  sudden  madness,  had  come 
over  him  that  night ;  only  he  could  never  understand  how  he  had 
strayed  so  far  into  a  strange  and  remote  quarter. 

Still  scarcely  waking,  he  went  down  the  hill ;  and  came  upon 
a  beaten  way,  which  led  him  out  from  the  mountains  into  the 
plain  country.  All  was  strange  to  him  :  he  at  first  thought  that 
he  would  find  his  old  home ;  but  the  country  which  he  saw  was 
quite  unknown  to  him ;  and  at  length  he  concluded  that  he  must 
be  upon  the  south  side  of  the  Mountains,  which,  in  spring,  he  had 
entered  from  the  north.  Towards  noon,  he  perceived  a  little 
town  below  him  :  from  its  cottages  a  peaceful  smoke  was  mount- 
ing up  ;  children,  dressed  as  for  a  holiday,  were  sporting  on  the 
green ;  and  from  a  small  church  came  the  sound  of  the  organ, 
and  the  singing  of  the  congregation.  All  this  laid  hold  of  him 
with  a  sweet,  inexpressible  sadness ;  it  so  moved  him,  that  he 
was  forced  to  weep.  The  narrow  gardens,  the  little  huts  with 
their  smoking  chimneys,  the  accurately-parted  corn-fields,  re- 
minded him  of  the  necessities  of  poor  human  nature  ;  of  man's 
dependence  on  the  friendly  Earth,  to  whose  benignity  he  must 
commit  himself ;  while  the  singing,  and  the  music  of  the  organ, 
filled  the  stranger's  heart  with  a  devoutness  it  had  never  felt  be- 
fore. The  desires  and  emotions  of  the  bygone  night  seemed  reck- 
less and  wicked ;  he  wished  once  more,  in  childlike  meekness, 
helplessly  and  humbly  to  unite  himself  to  men  as  to  his  brethren, 
and  fly  from  his  ungodly  purposes  and  feelings.  The  plain,  with 
its  little  river,  which,  in  manifold  windings,  clasped  itself  about 
the  gardens  and  meadows,  seemed  to  him  inviting  and  delightful : 
he  thought  with  fear  of  his  abode  among  the  lonely  mountains 


208 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


amid  waste  rocks ;  he  wished  that  he  could  he  allowed  to  live  in 
this  peaceful  village ;  and  so  feeling,  he  went  into  its  crowded 
church. 

The  psalm  was  just  over,  and  the  preacher  had  hegun  his  ser- 
mon. It  was  on  the  kindness  of  God  in  regard  to  Harvest ;  how 
His  goodness  feeds  and  satisfies  all  things  that  live  ;  how  marvel- 
lously He  has,  in  the  fruits  of  the  Earth,  provided  support  for 
men;  how  the  love  of  God  incessantly  displays  itself  in  the  bread 
He  sends  us  ;  and  how  the  humble  Christian  may  therefore,  with 
a  thankful  spirit,  perpetually  celebrate  a  Holy  Supper.  The  con- 
gregation were  affected ;  the  eyes  of  the  hunter  rested  on  the 
pious  priest,  and  observed,  close  by  the  pulpit,  a  young  maiden, 
who  appeared  beyond  all  others  reverent  and  attentive.  She  was 
slim  and  fair ;  her  blue  eye  gleamed  with  the  most  piercing  soft- 
ness ;  her  face  was  as  if  transparent,  and  blooming  in  the  ten- 
derest  colours.  The  stranger  youth  had  never  been  as  he  now 
was ;  so  full  of  charity,  so  calm,  so  abandoned  to  the  stillest, 
most  refreshing  feelings.  He  bowed  himself  in  tears,  wThen  the 
clergyman  pronounced  his  blessing ;  he  felt  these  holy  words 
thrill  through  him  like  an  unseen  power  ;  and  the  vision  of  the 
night  drew  back  before  them  to  the  deepest  distance,  as  a  spectre 
at  the  dawn.  He  issued  from  the  church ;  stopped  beneath  a 
large  lime-tree  ;  and  thanked  God,  in  a  heartfelt  prayer,  that  He 
had  saved  him,  sinful  and  undeserving,  from  the  nets  of  the 
Y/icked  Spirit. 

The  people  were  engaged  in  holding  harvest-home  that  day, 
and  every  one  was  in  a  cheerful  mood ;  the  children,  with  their 
gay  dresses,  were  rejoicing  in  the  prospect  of  the  sweetmeats  and 
the  dance ;  in  the  village  square,  a  space  encircled  with  young 
trees,  the  youths  were  arranging  the  preparations  for  their  harvest 
sport ;  the  players  were  seated,  and  essaying  their  instruments. 
Christian  went  into  the  fields  again,  to  collect  his  thoughts  and 
pursue  his  meditations ;  and  on  his  returning  to  the  village,  all 
had  joined  in  mirth,  and  actual  celebration  of  their  festival.  The 
fair-haired  Elizabeth  was  there,  too,  with  her  parents ;  and  the 
stranger  mingled  in  the  jocund  throng.  Elizabeth  was  dancing ; 
and  Christian,  in  the  mean  time,  had  entered  into  conversation 
with  her  father,  a  farmer,  and  one  of  the  richest  people  in  the 
village.  The  man  seemed  pleased  with  his  youth  and  way  of 
speech ;  so,  in  a  short  time,  both  of  them  agreed  that  Christian 
should  remain  with  him  as  gardener.   This  office  Christian  could 


THE  RUNENBEEG. 


209 


engage  with ;  for  he  hoped  that  now  the  knowledge  and  employ- 
ments, which  he  had  so  much  despised  at  home,  would  stand  him 
in  good  stead. 

From  this  period  a  new  life  began  for  him.  He  went  to  live 
with  the  farmer,  and  was  numbered  among  his  family.  With  his 
trade,  he  likewise  changed  his  garb.  He  was  so  good,  so  helpful 
and  kindly ;  he  stood  to  his  task  so  honestly,  that  ere  long  every 
member  of  the  house,  especially  the  daughter,  had  a  friendly  feel- 
ing to  him.  Every  Sunday,  when  he  saw  her  going  to  church,  he 
was  standing  with  a  fair  nosegay  ready  for  Elizabeth ;  and  then 
she  used  to  thank  him  with  blushing  kindliness  :  he  felt  her  ab- 
sence, on  days  when  he  did  not  chance  to  see  her ;  and  at  night, 
she  would  tell  him  tales  and  pleasant  histories.  Day  by  day  they 
grew  more  necessary  to  each  other ;  and  the  parents,  who  observed 
it,  did  not  seem  to  think  it  wrong ;  for  Christian  was  the  most 
industrious  and  handsomest  youth  in  the  village.  They  them- 
selves had,  at  first  sight,  felt  a  touch  of  love  and  friendship  for 
him.  After  half  a  year,  Elizabeth  became  his  wife.  Spring  was 
come  back ;  the  swallows  and  the  singing-birds  had  revisited  the 
land ;  the  garden  was  standing  in  its  fairest  trim  ;  the  marriage 
was  celebrated  with  abundant  mirth  ;  bride  and  bridegroom  seemed 
intoxicated  with  their  happiness.  Late  at  night,  when  they  re- 
tired to  their  chamber,  the  husband  whispered  to  his  wife  :  "  No, 
thou  art  not  that  form  which  once  charmed  me  in  a  dreara,  and 
which  I  never  can  entirely  forget ;  but  I  am  happy  beside  thee, 
and  blessed  that  thou  art  mine." 

How  delighted  was  the  family,  when,  within  a  year,  it  became 
augmented  by  a  little  daughter,  who  was  baptised  Leonora.  Chris- 
tian's looks,  indeed,  would  sometimes  take  a  rather  grave  expres- 
sion as  he  gazed  on  the  child ;  but  his  youthful  cheeriness  con- 
tinually returned.  He  scarcely  ever  thought  of  his  former  way  of 
life,  for  he  felt  himself  entirely  domesticated  and  contented.  Yet, 
some  months  afterwards,  his  parents  came  into  his  mind ;  and  he 
thought  how  much  his  father,  in  particular,  would  be  rejoiced  to 
see  his  peaceful  happiness,  his  station  as  husbandman  and  gar- 
dener ;  it  grieved  him  that  he  should  have  utterly  forgotten  his 
father  and  mother  for  so  long  a  time ;  his  own  only  child  made 
known  to  him  the  joy  which  children  afford  to  parents  ;  so  at  last 
he  took  the  resolution  to  set  out,  and  again  revisit  home. 

Unwillingly  he  left  his  wife  ;  all  wished  him  speed  ;  and  the 
season  being  fine,  he  went  off  on  foot.  Already  at  the  distance  of 

vol.  in.  p 


210 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


a  few  miles,  he  felt  how  much  the  parting  grieved  him ;  for  the 
first  time  in  his  life,  he  experienced  the  pains  of  separation ;  the 
foreign  objects  seemed  to  him  almost  savage  ;  he  felt  as  if  he  had 
been  lost  in  some  unfriendly  solitude.  Then  the  thought  came 
on  him,  that  his  youth  was  over ;  that  he  had  found  a  home  to 
which  he  now  belonged,  in  which  his  heart  had  taken  root ;  he 
was  almost  ready  to  lament  the  lost  levity  of  younger  years ;  and 
his  mind  was  in  the  saddest  mood,  when  he  turned  aside  into  a 
village  inn  to  pass  the  night.  He  could  not  understand  how  he 
had  come  to  leave  his  kind  wife,  and  the  parents  she  had  given 
him ;  and  he  felt  dispirited  and  discontented,  when  he  rose  next 
morning  to  pursue  his  journey. 

His  pain  increased  as  he  approached  the  hills  :  the  distant 
ruins  were  already  visible,  and  by  degrees  grew  more  distinguish- 
able ;  many  summits  rose  defined  and  clear  amid  the  blue  vapour. 
His  step  grew  timid  ;  frequently  he  paused,  astonished  at  his  fear  ; 
at  the  horror  which,  with  every  step,  fell  closer  on  him.  "  Mad- 
ness !"  cried  he,  "I know  thee  well,  and  thy  perilous  seductions  ; 
but  I  will  withstand  thee  manfully.  Elizabeth  is  no  vain  dream  ; 
I  know  that  even  now  she  thinks  of  me,  that  she  waits  for  me, 
and  fondly  counts  the  hours  of  my  absence.  Do  I  not  already  see 
forests  like  black  hair  before  me  ?  Do  not  the  glancing  eyes  look 
to  me  from  the  brook  ?  Does  not  the  stately  form  step  towards 
me  from  the  mountains  ?"  So  saying,  he  was  about  to  lay  him- 
self beneath  a  tree,  and  take  some  rest ;  when  he  perceived  an 
old  man  seated  in  the  shade  of  it,  examining  a  flower  with  ex- 
treme attention ;  now  holding  it  to  the  sun,  now  shading  it  with 
his  hands,  now  counting  its  leaves  ;  as  if  striving  in  every  way  to 
stamp  it  accurately  in  his  memory.  On  approaching  nearer,  he 
thought  he  knew  the  form ;  and  soon  no  doubt  remained  that  the 
old  man  with  the  flower  was  his  father.  With  an  exclamation  of 
the  liveliest  joy,  he  rushed  into  his  arms ;  the  old  man  seemed 
delighted,  but  not  much  surprised,  at  meeting  him  so  suddenly. 

"  Art  thou  with  me  already,  my  son  ?"  said  he :  "  I  knew 
that  I  should  find  thee  soon,  but  I  did  not  think  such  joy  had 
been  in  store  for  me  this  very  day." 

"  How  did  you  know,  father,  that  you  would  meet  me  ?" 

"  By  this  flower,"  replied  the  old  gardener ;  "  all  my  days  I 
have  had  a  wish  to  see  it ;  but  never  had  I  the  fortune ;  for  it  is 
very  scarce,  and  grows  only  among  the  mountains.  I  set  out  to 
seek  thee,  for  thy  mother  is  dead,  and  the  loneliness  at  home 


THE  RUNENBERG. 


211 


made  me  sad  and  heavy.  I  knew  not  whither  I  should  turn  my 
steps ;  at  last  I  came  among  the  mountains,  dreary  as  the  jour- 
ney through  them  had  appeared  to  me.  By  the  road,  I  sought 
for  this  flower,  but  could  find  it  nowhere ;  and  now,  quite  unex- 
pectedly, I  see  it  here,  where  the  fair  plain  is  lying  stretched 
before  me.  From  this  I  knew  that  I  should  meet  thee  soon ; 
and,  lo,  how  true  the  fair  flower's  prophecy  has  proved !" 

They  embraced  again,  and  Christian  wept  for  his  mother ; 
but  the  old  man  grasped  his  hand,  and  said :  "  Let  us  go,  that 
the  shadows  of  the  mountains  may  be  soon  out  of  view ;  it  always 
makes  me  sorrowful  in  the  heart  to  see  these  wild  steep  shapes, 
these  horrid  chasms,  these  torrents  gurgling  down  into  their  ca- 
verns. Let  us  get  upon  the  good,  kind,  guileless  level  ground 
again." 

They  went  back,  and  Christian  recovered  his  cheerfulness. 
He  told  his  father  of  his  new  fortune,  of  his  child  and  home :  his 
speech  made  himself  as  if  intoxicated  ;  and  he  now,  in  talking 
of  it,  for  the  first  time  truly  felt  that  nothing  more  was  wanting 
to  his  happiness.  Thus,  amid  narrations  sad  and  cheerful,  they 
returned  into  the  village.  All  were  delighted  at  the  speedy  end- 
ing of  the  journey;  most  of  all,  Elizabeth.  The  old  father  stayed 
with  them,  and  joined  his  little  fortune  to  their  stock;  they  formed 
the  most  contented  and  united  circle  in  the  world.  Their  crops 
were  good,  their  cattle  throve ;  and  in  a  few  years  Christian's 
house  was  among  the  wealthiest  in  the  quarter.  Elizabeth  had 
also  given  him  several  other  children. 

Five  years  had  passed  away  in  this  manner,  when  a  stranger 
halted  from  his  journey  in  their  village  ;  and  took  up  his  lodging 
in  Christian's  house,  as  being  the  most  respectable  the  place  con- 
tained. He  was  a  friendly,  talking  man ;  he  told  them  many 
stories  of  his  travels ;  sported  with  the  children,  and  made  pre- 
sents to  them :  in  a  short  time,  all  were  growing  fond  of  him. 
He  liked  the  neighbourhood  so  well,  that  he  proposed  remaining 
in  it  for  a  day  or  two ;  but  the  days  grew  weeks,  and  the  weeks 
months.  No  one  seemed  to  wonder  at  his  loitering ;  for  all  of 
them  had  grown  accustomed  to  regard  him  as  a  member  of  the 
family.  Christian  alone  would  often  sit  in  a  thoughtful  mood  ; 
for  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  he  knew  this  traveller  of  old,  and  yet 
he  could  not  think  of  any  time  when  he  had  met  with  him.  Three 
months  had  passed  away,  when  the  stranger  at  last  took  his  leave, 
and  said :  "  My  dear  friends,  a  wondrous  destiny,  and  singular 


212 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


anticipations,  drive  me  to  the  neighbouring  mountains ;  a  magic 
image,  not  to  be  withstood,  allures  me  :  I  leave  you  now,  and  I 
know  not  whether  I  shall  ever  see  you  any  more.  I  have  a  sum 
of  money  by  me,  which  in  your  hands  will  be  safer  than  in  mine  ; 
so  I  ask  you  to  take  charge  of  it ;  and  if  within  a  year  I  come 
not  back,  then  keep  it,  and  accept  my  thanks  along  with  it  for 
the  kindness  you  have  shown  me." 

So  the  traveller  went  his  way,  and  Christian  took  the  money 
in  charge.  He  locked  it  carefully  up ;  and  now  and  then,  in  the 
excess  of  his  anxiety,  looked  over  it ;  he  counted  it  to  see  that 
none  was  missing,  and  in  all  respects  took  no  little  pains  with 
it.  "  This  sum  might  make  us  very  happy,"  said  he  once  to  his 
father;  "  should  the  stranger  not  return,  both  we  and  our  chil- 
dren were  well  provided  for." 

"Heed  not  the  gold,"  said  the  old  man;  "not  in  it  can 
happiness  be  found :  hitherto,  thank  God,  we  have  never  wanted 
aught ;  and  do  thou  put  away  such  thoughts  far  from  thee." 

Christian  often  rose  in  the  night  to  set  his  servants  to  their 
labour,  and  look  after  everything  himself :  his  father  was  afraid 
lest  this  excessive  diligence  might  harm  his  youth  and  health ;  so 
one  night  he  rose  to  speak  with  him  about  remitting  such  unrea- 
sonable efforts ;  when,  to  his  astonishment,  he  found  him  sitting 
with  a  little  lamp  at  his  table,  and  counting,  with  the  greatest 
eagerness,  the  stranger's  gold.  "My  son,"  said  the  old  man, 
full  of  sadness,  ' £  must  it  come  to  this  with  thee  ?  Was  this 
accursed  metal  brought  beneath  our  roof  to  make  us  wretched  ? 
Bethink  thee,  my  son,  or  the  Evil  One  will  consume  thy  blood 
and  life  out  of  thee." 

"Yes,"  replied  he;  "  it  is  true,  I  know  myself  no  more; 
neither  day  nor  night  does  it  give  me  any  rest :  see  how  it  looks 
on  me  even  now,  till  the  red  glance  of  it  goes  into  my  very  heart ! 
Hark  how  it  clinks,  this  go]den  stuff!  It  calls  me  when  I  sleep  ; 
I  hear  it  when  music  sounds,  when  the  wind  blows,  when  people 
speak  together  on  the  street ;  if  the  sun  shines,  I  see  nothing 
but  these  yellow  eyes,  with  which  it  beckons  to  me,  as  it  were, 
to  whisper  words  of  love  into  my  ear :  and  therefore  I  am  forced 
to  rise  in  the  night-time,  though  it  were  but  to  satisfy  its  eager- 
ness ;  and  then  I  feel  it  triumphing  and  inwardly  rejoicing  when 
I  touch  it  with  my  fingers ;  in  its  joy  it  grows  still  redder  and 
lordlier.  Do  but  look  yourself  at  the  glow  of  its  rapture  !"  The 
old  man,  shuddering  and  weeping,  took  his  son  in  his  arms ;  he 


THE  RUNENBERG. 


213 


said  a  prayer,  and  then  spoke  :  "  Christel,  thou  must  turn  again 
to  the  Word  of  God ;  thou  must  go  more  zealously  and  reverently 
to  church,  or  else,  alas  !  my  poor  child,  thou  wilt  droop  and  die 
away  in  the  most  mournful  wretchedness." 

The  money  was  again  locked  up ;  Christian  promised  to  take 
thought  and  change  his  conduct,  and  the  old  man  was  composed. 
A  year  and  more  had  passed,  and  no  tidings  had  been  heard  of 
the  stranger  :  the  old  man  at  last  gave  in  to  the  entreaties  of  his 
son ;  and  the  money  was  laid  out  in  land,  and  other  property. 
The  young  farmer's  riches  soon  became  the  talk  of  the  village ; 
and  Christian  seemed  contented  and  comfortable,  and  his  father 
felt  delighted  at  beholding  him  so  well  and  cheerful ;  all  fear  had 
now  vanished  from  his  mind.  What  then  must  have  been  his 
consternation,  when  Elizabeth  one  evening  took  him  aside ;  and 
told  him,  with  tears,  that  she  could  no  longer  understand  her 
husband ;  how  he  spoke  so  wildly,  especially  at  night ;  how  he 
dreamed  strange  dreams,  and  would  often  in  his  sleep  walk  long 
about  the  room,  not  knowing  it ;  how  he  spoke  strange  things  to 
her,  at  which  she  often  shuddered.  But  what  terrified  her  most, 
she  said,  was  his  pleasantry  by  day ;  for  his  laugh  was  wild  and 
hollow,  his  look  wandering  and  strange.  The  father  stood  amazed, 
and  the  sorrowing  wife  proceeded  :  "  He  is  always  talking  of  the 
traveller,  and  maintaining  that  he  knew  him  formerly,  and  that 
the  stranger  man  was  in  truth  a  woman  of  unearthly  beauty ;  nor 
will  he  go  any  more  into  the  fields  or  the  garden  to  work,  for  he 
says  he  hears  underneath  the  ground  a  fearful  moaning  when  he 
but  pulls  out  a  root ;  he  starts  and  seems  to  feel  a  horror  at  all 
plants  and  herbs." 

"  Good  God  !"  exclaimed  the  father,  "  is  the  frightful  hunger 
in  him  grown  so  rooted  and  strong,  that  it  is  come  to  this  ?  Then 
is  his  spell-bound  heart  no  longer  human,  but  of  cold  metal ;  he 
who  does  not  love  a  flower,  has  lost  all  love  and  fear  of  God." 

Next  day  the  old  man  went  to  walk  with  his  son,  and  told 
him  much  of  what  Elizabeth  had  said  ;  calling  on  him  to  be  pious, 
and  devote  his  soul  to  holy  contemplations.  "  Willingly,  my 
father,"  answered  Christian;  "and  I  often  do  so  with  success, 
and  all  is  well  with  me  :  for  long  periods  of  time,  for  years,  I  can 
forget  the  true  form  of  my  inward  man,  and  lead  a  life  that  is 
foreign  to  me,  as  it  were,  with  cheerfulness  :  but  then  on  a  sud- 
den, like  a  new  moon,  the  ruling  star,  which  I  myself  am,  arises 
again  in  my  heart,  and  conquers  this  other  influence.    I  might 


214 


LUDWIG  TIECK, 


be  altogether  happy;  but  once,  in  a  mysterious  night,  a  secret 
sign  was  imprinted  through  my  hand  deep  on  my  soul ;  frequently 
the  magic  figure  sleeps  and  is  at  rest ;  I  imagine  it  has  passed 
away;  but  in  a  moment,  like  a  poison,  it  darts  up  and  lives  over 
all  its  lineaments.  And  then  I  can  think  or  feel  nothing  else  but 
it ;  and  all  around  me  is  transformed,  or  rather  swallowed  up,  by 
this  subduing  shape.  As  the  rabid  man  recoils  at  the  sight  of 
water,  and  the  poison  in  him  grows  more  fell ;  so  too  it  is  with 
me  at  the  sight  of  any  cornered  figure,  any  line,  any  gleam  of 
brightness ;  anything  will  then  rouse  the  form  that  dwells  in  me, 
and  make  it  start  into  being ;  and  my  soul  and  body  feel  the 
throes  of  birth ;  for  as  my  mind  received  it  by  a  feeling  from 
without,  she  strives  in  agony  and  bitter  labour  to  work  it  forth 
again  into  an  outward  feeling,  that  she  may  be  rid  of  it,  and  at 
rest." 

"  It  was  an  evil  star  that  took  thee  from  us  to  the  Moun- 
tains," said  the  old  man  ;  "thou  wert  born  for  calm  life,  thy  mind 
inclined  to  peace  and  the  love  of  plants ;  then  thy  impatience 
hurried  thee  away  to  the  company  of  savage  stones  :  the  crags, 
the  torn  cliffs,  with  their  jagged  shapes,  have  overturned  thy  soul, 
and  planted  in  thee  the  wasting  hunger  for  metals.  Thou  shouldst 
still  have  been  on  thy  guard,  and  kept  thyself  away  from  the  view 
of  mountains  ;  so  I  meant  to  bring  thee  up,  but  it  has  not  so  been 
to  be.  Thy  humility,  thy  peace,  thy  childlike  feeling,  have  been 
thrust  away  by  scorn,  boisterousness  and  caprice." 

"  No,"  said  the  son ;  "  I  remember  well  that  it  was  a  plant 
which  first  made  known  to  me  the  misery  of  the  Earth ;  never, 
till  then,  did  I  understand  the  sighs  and  lamentations  one  may 
hear  on  every  side,  througnout  the  whole  of  Nature,  if  one  but 
give  ear  to  them.  In  plants  and  herbs,  in  trees  and  flowers,  it 
is  the  painful  writhing  of  one  universal  wound  that  moves  and 
works ;  they  are  the  corpse  of  foregone  glorious  worlds  of  rock, 
they  offer  to  our  eye  a  horrid  universe  of  putrefaction.  I  now  see 
clearly  it  was  this,  which  the  root  with  its  deep-drawn  sigh  was 
saying  to  me  ;  in  its  sorrow  it  forgot  itself,  and  told  me  all.  It 
is  because  of  this  that  all  green  shrubs  are  so  enraged  at  me,  and 
lie  in  wait  for  my  life ;  they  wish  to  obliterate  that  lovely  figure 
in  my  heart ;  and  every  spring,  with  their  distorted  deathlike 
looks,  they  try  to  win  my  soul.  Truly  it  is  piteous  to  consider 
how  they  have  betrayed  and  cozened  thee,  old  man  ;  for  they 
have  gained  complete  possession  of  thy  spirit.    Do  but  question 


THE  RUNENBERG. 


215 


the  rocks,  and  thou  wilt  be  amazed  when  thou  shalt  hear  them 
speak." 

The  father  looked  at  him  a  long  while,  and  could  answer  no- 
thing. They  went  home  again  in  silence,  and  the  old  man  was  as 
frightened  as  Elizabeth  at  Christian's  mirth  ;  for  it  seemed  a  thing 
quite  foreign  ;  and  as  if  another  being  from  within  were  working 
out  of  him,  awkwardly  and  ineffectually,  as  out  of  some  machine. 

The  harvest-home  was  once  more  to  be  held ;  the  people  went 
to  church,  and  Elizabeth,  with  her  little  ones,  set  out  to  join  the 
service  ;  her  husband  also  seemed  intending  to  accompany  them, 
but  at  the  threshold  of  the  church  he  turned  aside  ;  and  with  an 
air  of  deep  thought,  walked  out  of  the  village.  He  set  himself 
on  the  height,  and  again  looked  over  upon  the  smoking  cottages ; 
he  heard  the  music  of  the  psalm  and  organ  coming  from  the  little 
church;  children,  in  holiday  dresses,  were  dancing  and  sporting 
on  the  green.  "  How  have  I  lost  my  life  as  in  a  dream  !"  said 
he  to  himself:  "  years  have  passed  away  since  I  went  down  this 
hill  to  the  merry  children ;  they  who  were  then  sportful  on  the 
green,  are  now  serious  in  the  church ;  I  also  once  went  into  it, 
but  Elizabeth  is  now  no  more  a  blooming  childlike  maiden ;  her 
youth  is  gone ;  I  cannot  seek  for  the  glance  of  her  eyes  with  the 
longing  of  those  days  ;  I  have  wilfully  neglected  a  high  eternal 
happiness,  to  win  one  which  is  finite  and  transitory." 

With  a  heart  full  of  wild  desire,  he  walked  to  the  neighbour- 
ing wood,  and  immersed  himself  in  its  thickest  shades.  A  ghastly 
silence  encompassed  him ;  no  breath  of  air  was  stirring  in  the 
leaves.  Meanwhile  he  saw  a  man  approaching  him  from  a  dist- 
ance, whom  he  recognised  for  the  stranger ;  he  started  in  affright, 
and  his  first  thought  was,  that  the  man  would  ask  him  for  his 
money.  But  as  the  form  came  nearer,  he  perceived  how  greatly 
he  had  been  mistaken ;  for  the  features,  which  he  had  imagined 
known  to  him,  melted  into  one  another ;  an  old  woman  of  the 
utmost  hideousness  approached ;  she  was  clad  in  dirty  rags ;  a 
tattered  clout  bound  up  her  few  gray  hairs ;  she  was  limping  on 
a  crutch.  With  a  dreadful  voice  she  spoke  to  him,  and  asked  his 
name  and  situation ;  he  replied  to  both  inquiries,  and  then  said, 
4 'But  who  art  thou?" 

"  I  am  called  the  Woodwoman,"  answered  she  ;  "  and  every 
child  can  tell  of  me.  Didst  thou  never  see  me  before  ?"  With 
the  last  words  she  whirled  about,  and  Christian  thought  he  recog- 
nised among  the  trees  the  golden  veil,  the  lofty  gait,  the  large 


/ 


216 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


stately  form  which  he  had  once  beheld  of  old.  He  turned  to 
hasten  after  her,  but  nowhere  was  she  to  be  seen. 

Meanwhile  something  glittered  in  the  grass,  and  drew  his  eye 
to  it.  He  picked  it  up  ;  it  was  the  magic  tablet  with  the  coloured 
jewels,  and  the  wondrous  figure,  which  he  had  lost  so  many  years 
before.  The  shape  and  the  changeful  gleams  struck  over  all  his 
senses  with  an  instantaneous  power.  He  grasped  it  firmly,  to 
convince  himself  that  it  was  really  once  more  in  his  hands,  and 
then  hastened  back  with  it  to  the  village.  His  father  met  him. 
"  See,"  cried  Christian,  "  the  thing  which  I  was  telling  you  about 
so  often,  which  I  thought  must  have  been  shown  to  me  only  in  a 
dream,  is  now  sure  and  true." 

The  old  man  looked  a  long  while  at  the  tablet,  and  then  said : 
"My  son,  I  am  struck  with  horror  in  my  heart  when  I  view 
these  stones,  and  dimly  guess  the  meaning  of  the  words  on  them. 
Look  here,  how  cold  they  glitter,  what  cruel  looks  they  cast  from 
them,  bloodthirsty,  like  the  red  eye  of  the  tiger  !  Cast  this  writ- 
ing from  thee,  which  makes  thee  cold  and  cruel,  which  will  turn 
thy  heart  to  stone  : 

See  the  flowers,  when  morn  is  beaming, 

Waken  in  their  dewy  place ; 
And,  like  children  roused  from  dreaming, 

Smiling  look  thee  in  the  face. 

By  degrees,  that  way  and  this, 

To  the  golden  Sun  they're  turning, 
Till  they  meet  his  glowing  kiss, 

And  their  hearts  with  love  are  burning : 

For,  with  fond  and  sad  desire, 

In  their  lover's  looks  to  languish, 
On  his  melting  kisses  to  expire, 

And  to  die  of  love's  sweet  anguish : 

This  is  what  they  joy  in  most ; 

To  depart  in  fondest  weakness ; 
In  their  lover's  being  lost, 

Faded  stand  in  silent  meekness. 

Then  they  pour  away  the  treasure 

Of  their  perfumes,  their  soft  soul8, 
And  the  air  grows  drunk  with  pleasure, 

As  in  wanton  floods  it  rolls. 

Love  comes  to  us  here  below, 

Discord  harsh  away  removing ; 
And  the  heart  cries  :  Now  I  know 

Sadness,  Fondness,  Pain  of  Loving." 


THE  RUNENBERG. 


217 


"  What  wonderful  incalculable  treasures,"  said  the  other, 
"  must  there  still  be  in  the  depths  of  the  Earth  !  Could  one  but 
sound  into  their  secret  beds  and  raise  them  up,  and  snatch  them 
to  one's-self !  Could  one  but  clasp  this  Earth  like  a  beloved 
bride  to  one's  bosom,  so  that  in  pain  and  love  she  would  willingly 
grant  one  her  costliest  riches  !  The  Woodwoman  has  called  me  ; 
I  go  to  seek  for  her.  Near  by  is  an  old  ruined  shaft,  which  some 
miner  has  hollowed  out  many  centuries  ago ;  perhaps  I  shall  find 
her  there !" 

He  hastened  off.  In  vain  did  the  old  man  strive  to  detain 
him  ;  in  a  few  moments  Christian  had  vanished  from  his  sight. 
Some  hours  afterwards,  the  father,  with  a  strong  effort,  reached 
the  ruined  shaft :  he  saw  footprints  in  the  sand  at  the  entrance, 
and  returned  in  tears ;  persuaded  that  his  son,  in  a  state  of  mad- 
ness, had  gone  in  and  been  drowned  in  the  old  collected  waters 
and  horrid  caves  of  the  mine. 

From  that  day  his  heart  seemed  broken,  and  he  was  inces- 
santly in  tears.  The  whole  neighbourhood  deplored  the  fortune 
of  the  young  farmer.  Elizabeth  was  inconsolable,  the  children 
lamented  aloud.  In  half  a  year  the  aged  gardener  died ;  the 
parents  of  Elizabeth  soon  followed  him ;  and  she  was  forced  her- 
self to  take  charge  of  everything.  Her  multiplied  engagements 
helped  a  little  to  withdraw  her  from  her  sorrow ;  the  education  of 
her  children,  and  the  management  of  so  much  property,  left  little 
time  for  mourning.  After  two  years,  she  determined  on  a  new 
marriage ;  she  bestowed  her  hand  on  a  young  light-hearted  man, 
who  had  loved  her  from  his  youth.  But,  ere  long,  everything  in 
their  establishment  assumed  another  form.  The  cattle  died ;  men 
and  maid  servants  proved  dishonest ;  barns  full  of  grain  were 
burnt ;  people  in  the  town  who  owed  them  sums  of  money,  fled 
and  made  no  payment.  In  a  little  while,  the  landlord  found 
himself  obliged  to  sell  some  fields  and  meadows ;  but  a  mildew, 
and  a  year  of  scarcity,  brought  new  embarrassments.  It  seemed 
as  if  the  gold,  so  strangely  acquired,  were  taking  speedy  flight  in 
all  directions.  Meanwhile  the  family  was  on  the  increase  ;  and 
Elizabeth,  as  well  as  her  husband,  grew  reckless  and  sluggish  in 
this  scene  of  despair :  he  fled  for  consolation  to  the  bottle,  he  was 
often  drunk,  and  therefore  quarrelsome  and  sullen ;  so  that  fre- 
quently Elizabeth  bewailed  her  state  with  bitter  tears.  As  their 
fortune  declined,  their  friends  in  the  village  stood  aloof  from  them 
more  and  more ;  so  that  after  some  few  years  they  saw  themselves 


218 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


entirely  forsaken,  and  were  forced  to  struggle  on,  in  penury  and 
straits,  from  week  to  week. 

They  had  nothing  but  a  cow  and  a  few  sheep  left  them  ;  these 
Elizabeth  herself,  with  her  children,  often  tended  at  their  grass. 
She  was  sitting  one  day  with  her  work  in  the  field,  Leonora  at 
her  side,  and  a  sucking  child  on  her  breast,  when  they  saw  from 
afar  a  strange-looking  shape  approaching  towards  them.  It  was 
a  man  with  a  garment  all  in  tatters,  barefoot,  sunburnt  to  a 
black-brown  colour  in  the  face,  deformed  still  farther  by  a  long 
matted  beard  :  he  wore  no  covering  on  his  head ;  but  had  twisted 
a  garland  of  green  branches  through  his  hair,  which  made  his 
wild  appearance  still  more  strange  and  haggard.  On  his  back 
he  bore  some  heavy  burden  in  a  sack,  very  carefully  tied,  and  as 
he  walked  he  leaned  upon  a  young  fir. 

On  coming  nearer,  he  put  down  his  load,  and  drew  deep 
draughts  of  breath.  He  bade  Elizabeth  good-day;  she  shuddered 
at  the  sight  of  him,  the  girl  crouched  close  to  her  mother.  Having 
rested  for  a  little  while,  he  said  :  "  I  am  getting  back  from  a  very 
hard  journey  among  the  wildest  mountains  of  the  Earth  ;  but  to 
pay  me  for  it,  I  have  brought  along  with  me  the  richest  treasures 
which  imagination  can  conceive,  or  heart  desire.  Look  here,  and 
wonder ! ' '  Thereupon  he  loosed  his  sack,  and  shook  it  empty  : 
it  was  full  of  gravel,  among  which  were  to  be  seen  large  bits  of 
chuck-stone,  and  other  pebbles.  "  These  jewels,"  he  continued, 
"  are  not  ground  and  polished  yet,  so  they  want  the  glance  and 
the  eye ;  the  outward  fire,  with  its  glitter,  is  too  deeply  buried  in 
their  inmost  heart ;  yet  you  have  but  to  strike  it  out  and  frighten 
them,  and  show  that  no  deceit  will  serve,  and  then  you  see  what 
sort  of  stuff  they  are."  So  saying,  he  took  a  piece  of  flinty  stone, 
and  struck  it  hard  against  another,  till  they  gave  red  sparks  be- 
tween them.  "  Did  you  see  the  glance?"  cried  he.  "  Ay,  they  are 
all  fire  and  light ;  they  illuminate  the  darkness  with  their  laugh, 
though  as  yet  it  is  against  their  will."  With  this  he  carefully 
repacked  his  pebbles  in  the  bag,  and  tied  it  hard  and  fast.  "  I 
know  thee  very  well,"  said  he  then,  with  a  saddened  tone;  "  thou 
art  Elizabeth."    The  woman  started. 

"  How  comest  thou  to  know  my  name?"  cried  she,  with  a 
forecasting  shudder. 

"  Ah,  good  God !"  said  the  unhappy  creature,  "  I  am  Christian, 
he  that  was  a  hunter  :  dost  thou  not  know  me,  then  ?" 

She  knew  not,  in  her  horror  and  deepest  compassion,  what  to 


THE  RUNENBERG. 


219 


say.  He  fell  upon  her  neck  and  kissed  her.  Elizabeth  exclaimed  : 
"  0  Heaven  !  my  husband  is  coming  !" 

"Be  at  thy  ease,"  said  he ;  "I  am  as  good  as  dead  to  thee  : 
in  the  forest,  there,  my  fair  one  waits  for  me ;  she  that  is  tall 
and  stately,  with  the  black  hair  and  the  golden  veil.  This  is  my 
dearest  child,  Leonora.  Come  hither,  darling  :  come,  my  pretty 
child ;  and  give  me  a  kiss,  too ;  one  kiss,  that  I  may  feel  thy 
mouth  upon  my  lips  once  again,  and  then  I  leave  you." 

Leonora  wept ;  she  clasped  close  to  her  mother,  who,  in  sobs 
and  tears,  half  held  her  towards  the  wanderer,  while  he  half  drew 
her  towards  him,  took  her  in  his  arms,  and  pressed  her  to  his 
breast.  Then  he  went  away  in  silence,  and  in  the  wood  they  saw 
him  speaking  with  the  hideous  Woodwoman. 

"What  ails  you  ?"  said  the  husband,  as  he  found  mother  and 
daughter  pale  and  melting  in  tears.   Neither  of  them  answered. 

The  ill-fated  creature  was  never  seen  again  from  that  day. 


THE  ELVES. 


"  Where  is  our  little  Mary  ?"  said  the  father. 

"  She  is  playing  out  upon  the  green  there  with  our  neigh- 
bour's boy,"  replied  the  mother. 

"I  wish  they  may  not  run  away  and  lose  themselves,"  said 
he  ;  "  they  are  so  thoughtless." 

The  mother  looked  for  the  little  ones,  and  brought  them  their 
evening  luncheon.  "  It  is  warm,"  said  the  boy ;  "  and  Mary  had 
a  longing  for  the  red  cherries." 

"  Have  a  care,  children,"  said  the  mother,  "  and  do  not  run 
too  far  from  home,  and  not  into  the  wood ;  Father  and  I  are 
going  to  the  fields." 

Little  Andres  answered :  "  Never  fear,  the  wood  frightens 
us ;  we  shall  sit  here  bv  the  house,  where  there  are  people  near 
us." 

The  mother  went  in,  and  soon  came  out  again  with  her  hus- 
band. They  locked  the  door,  and  turned  towards  the  fields  to 
look  after  their  labourers,  and  see  their  hay-harvest  in  the  mea- 
dow. Their  house  lay  upon  a  little  green  height,  encircled  by  a 
pretty  ring  of  paling,  which  likewise  enclosed  their  fruit  and 
flower  garden.  The  hamlet  stretched  somewhat  deeper  down, 
and  on  the  other  side  lay  the  castle  of  the  Count.  Martin  rented 
the  large  farm  from  this  nobleman ;  and  was  living  in  content- 
ment with  his  wife  and  only  child;  for  he  yearly  saved  some 
money,  and  had  the  prospect  of  becoming  a  man  of  substance 
by  his  industry,  for  the  ground  was  productive,  and  the  Count 
not  illiberal. 

As  he  walked  with  his  wife  to  the  fields,  he  gazed  cheerfully 


THE  ELVES. 


221 


round,  and  said  :  "  What  a  different  look  this  quarter  has,  Bri- 
gitta,  from  the  place  we  lived  in  formerly !  Here  it  is  all  so 
green ;  the  whole  village  is  bedecked  with  thick- spreading  fruit- 
trees  ;  the  ground  is  full  of  beautiful  herbs  and  flowers ;  all  the 
houses  are  cheerful  and  cleanly,  the  inhabitants  are  at  their  ease : 
nay  I  could  almost  fancy  that  the  woods  are  greener  here  than 
elsewhere,  and  the  sky  bluer ;  and,  so  far  as  the  eye  can  reach, 
you  have  pleasure  and  delight  in  beholding  the  bountiful  Earth." 

"  And  whenever  you  cross  the  stream,"  said  Brigitta,  "  you 
are,  as  it  were,  in  another  world,  all  is  so  dreary  and  withered ; 
but  every  traveller  declares  that  our  village  is  the  fairest  in  the 
country  far  and  near." 

"  All  but  that  fir-ground,"  said  her  husband;  "  do  but  look 
back  to  it,  how  dark  and  dismal  that  solitary  spot  is  lying  in  the 
gay  scene  :  the  dingy  fir-trees  with  the  smoky  huts  behind  them, 
the  ruined  stalls,  the  brook  flowing  past  with  a  sluggish  melan- 
choly." 

"It  is  true,"  replied  Brigitta ;  "if  you  but  approach  that 
spot,  you  grow  disconsolate  and  sad,  you  know  not  why.  What 
sort  of  people  can  they  be  that  live  there,  and  keep  themselves 
so  separate  from  the  rest  of  us,  as  if  they  had  an  evil  con- 
science ?" 

"A  miserable  crew,"  replied  the  young  Farmer:  "gipsies, 
seemingly,  that  steal  and  cheat  in  other  quarters,  and  have  their 
hoard  and  hiding-place  here.  I  wonder  only  that  his  Lordship 
suffers  them." 

"  Who  knows,"  said  the  wife,  with  an  accent  of  pity,  "  but 
perhaps  they  may  be  poor  people,  wishing,  out  of  shame,  to  con- 
ceal their  poverty ;  for,  after  all,  no  one  can  say  aught  ill  of 
them ;  the  only  thing  is,  that  they  do  not  go  to  church,  and  none 
knows  how  they  live ;  for  the  little  garden,  which  indeed  seems 
altogether  waste,  cannot  possibly  support  them ;  and  fields  they 
have  none." 

"  God  knows,"  said  Martin,  as  they  went  along,  "  what  trade 
they  follow  ;  no  mortal  comes  to  them ;  for  the  place  they  live  in 
is  as  if  bewitched  and  excommunicated,  so  that  even  our  wildest 
fellows  will  not  venture  into  it." 

Such  conversation  they  pursued,  while  walking  to  the  fields. 
That  gloomy  spot  they  spoke  of  lay  aside  from  the  hamlet.  In  a 
dell,  begirt  with  firs,  you  might  behold  a  hut,  and  various  ruined 
office-houses ;  rarely  was  smoke  seen  to  mount  from  it,  still  more 


222 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


rarely  did  men  appear  there  ;  though  at  times  curious  people,  ven- 
turing somewhat  nearer,  had  perceived  upon  the  hench  before  the 
hut,  some  hideous  women,  in  ragged  clothes,  dandling  in  their 
arms  some  children  equally  dirty  and  ill  -  favoured ;  black  dogs 
were  running  up  and  down  upon  the  boundary;  and,  of  an  even- 
ing, a  man  of  monstrous  size  was  seen  to  cross  the  footbridge 
of  the  brook,  and  disappear  in  the  hut ;  and,  in  the  darkness, 
various  shapes  were  observed,  moving  like  shadows  round  a  fire  in 
the  open  air.  This  piece  of  ground,  the  firs  and  the  ruined  huts, 
formed  in  truth  a  strange  contrast  with  the  bright  green  land- 
scape, the  white  houses  of  the  hamlet,  and  the  stately  new-built 
castle. 

The  two  little  ones  had  now  eaten  their  fruit ;  it  came  into 
their  heads  to  run  races ;  and  the  little  nimble  Mary  always  got 
the  start  of  the  less  active  Andres.  "It  is  not  fair,"  cried  Andres 
at  last:  "  let  us  try  it  for  some  length,  then  we  shall  see  who 
wins." 

"As  thou  wilt,"  said  Mary;  "  only  to  the  brook  we  must 
not  run." 

"  No,"  said  Andres  ;  "  but  there,  on  the  hill,  stands  the  large 
pear-tree,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  this.  I  shall  run  by  the  left, 
round  past  the  fir-ground  ;  thou  canst  try  it  by  the  right  over  the 
fields ;  so  we  do  not  meet  till  we  get  up,  and  then  we  shall  see 
which  of  us  is  swifter." 

"  Done,"  cried  Mary,  and  began  to  run ;  "for  we  shall  not 
mar  one  another  by  the  way,  and  my  father  says  it  is  as  far  to 
the  hill  by  that  side  of  the  Gipsies'  house  as  by  this." 

Andres  had  already  started,  and  Mary,  turning  to  the  right, 
could  no  longer  see  him.  "It  is  very  silly,"  said  she  to  herself: 
"  I  have  only  to  take  heart,  and  run  along  the  bridge,  past  the 
hut,  and  through  the  yard,  and  I  shall  certainly  be  first."  She 
was  already  standing  by  the  brook  and  the  clump  of  firs.  "  Shall 
I  ?  No  ;  it  is  too  frightful,"  said  she.  A  little  white  dog  was 
standing  on  the  farther  side,  and  barking  with  might  and  main. 
In  her  terror,  Mary  thought  the  dog  some  monster,  and  sprang 
back.  "  Fy  !  fy  !"  said  she  :  "  the  dolt  is  gone  half  way  by  this 
time,  while  I  stand  here  considering."  The  little  dog  kept  bark- 
ing, and,  as  she  looked  at  it  more  narrowly,  it  seemed  no  longer 
frightful,  but,  on  the  contrary,  quite  pretty :  it  had  a  red  collar 
round  its  neck,  with  a  glittering  bell ;  and  as  it  raised  its  head, 
and  shook  itself  in  barking,  the  little  bell  sounded  with  the  finest 


THE  ELVES. 


223 


tinkle.  "  Well,  I  must  risk  it !"  cried  she  :  "  I  will  run  for  life  ; 
quick,  quick,  I  am  through ;  certainly  to  Heaven,  they  cannot 
eat  me  up  alive  in  half  a  minute  !"  And  with  this,  the  gay, 
courageous  little  Mary  sprang  along  the  footbridge ;  passed  the 
dog,  which  ceased  its  barking  and  began  to  fawn  on  her ;  and  in 
a  moment  she  was  standing  on  the  other  bank,  and  the  black  firs 
all  round  concealed  from  view  her  father's  house,  and  the  rest  of 
the  landscape. 

But  what  was  her  astonishment  when  here  !  The  loveliest, 
most  variegated  flower-garden,  lay  round  her ;  tulips,  roses  and 
lilies  were  glittering  in  the  fairest  colours ;  blue  and  gold-red 
butterflies  were  wavering  in  the  blossoms ;  cages  of  shining  wire 
were  hung  on  the  espaliers,  with  many-coloured  birds  in  them, 
singing  beautiful  songs ;  and  children,  in  short  white  frocks,  with 
flowing  yellow  hair  and  brilliant  eyes,  were  frolicking  about;  some 
playing  with  lambkins,  some  feeding  the  birds,  or  gathering  flowers, 
and  giving  them  to  one  another ;  some,  again,  were  eating  cher- 
ries, grapes  and  ruddy  apricots.  No  hut  was  to  be  seen ;  but 
instead  of  it,  a  large  fair  house,  with  a  brazen  door  and  lofty 
statues,  stood  glancing  in  the  middle -of  the  space.  Mary  was 
confounded  with  surprise,  and  knew  not  what  to  think ;  but,  not 
being  bashful,  she  went  right  up  to  the  first  of  the  children,  held 
out  her  hand,  and  wished  the  little  creature  good-even. 

"  Art  thou  come  to  visit  us,  then?"  said  the  glittering  child; 
"  I  saw  thee  running,  playing  on  the  other  side,  but  thou  wert 
frightened  at  our  little  dog." 

"  So  you  are  not  gipsies  and  rogues,"  said  Mary,  "  as  Andres 
always  told  me  ?  He  is  a  stupid  thing,  and  talks  of  much  he 
does  not  understand." 

"  Stay  with  us,"  said  the  strange  little  girl ;  "  thou  wilt  like 
it  well." 

"  But  we  are  running  a  race." 

"  Thou  wilt  find  thy  comrade  soon  enough.  There,  take  and 
eat." 

Mary  ate,  and  found  the  fruit  more  sweet  than  any  she  had 
ever  tasted  in  her  life  before  ;  and  Andres,  and  the  race,  and  the 
prohibition  of  her  parents,  were  entirely  forgotten. 

A  stately  woman,  in  a  shining  robe,  came  towards  them,  and 
asked  about  the  stranger  child.  "  Fairest  lady,"  said  Mary,  "  I 
came  running  hither  by  chance,  and  now  they  wish  to  keep  me." 

"  Thou  art  aware,  Zerina,"  said  the  lady,  "that  she  can  be 


224  LUDWIG  TIECK. 

here  but  for  a  little  while ;  besides,  thou  shouldst  have  asked  my 
leave." 

"  I  thought,"  said  Zerina,  "  when  I  saw  her  admitted  across 
the  bridge,  that  I  might  do  it ;  we  have  often  seen  her  running 
in  the  fields,  and  thou  thyself  hast  taken  pleasure  in  her  lively 
temper.    She  will  have  to  leave  us  soon  enough." 

"  No,  I  will  stay  here,"  said  the  little  stranger;  "  for  here 
it  is  so  beautiful,  and  here  I  shall  find  the  prettiest  playthings, 
and  store  of  berries  and  cherries  to  boot.  On  the  other  side  it  is 
not  half  so  grand." 

The  gold-robed  lady  went  away  with  a  smile ;  and  many  of 
the  children  now  came  bounding  round  the  happy  Mary  in  their 
mirth,  and  twitched  her,  and  incited  her  to  dance;  others  brought 
her  lambs,  or  curious  playthings ;  others  made  music  on  instru- 
ments, and  sang  to  it. 

She  kept,  however,  by  the  playmate  who  had  first  met  her ; 
for  Zerina  was  the  kindest  and  loveliest  of  them  all.  Little  Mary 
cried  and  cried  again :  ' '  I  will  stay  with  you  forever ;  I  will  stay 
with  you,  and  you  shall  be  my  sisters;"  at  which  the  children  all 
laughed,  and  embraced  her.  "  Now  we  shall  have  a  royal  sport," 
said  Zerina.  She  ran  into  the  Palace,  and  returned  with  a  little 
golden  box,  in  which  lay  a  quantity  of  seeds,  like  glittering  dust. 
She  lifted  of  it  with  her  little  hand,  and  scattered  some  grains  on 
the  green  earth.  Instantly  the  grass  began  to  move,  as  in  waves; 
and,  after  a  few  moments,  bright  rose-bushes  started  from  the 
ground,  shot  rapidly  up,  and  budded  all  at  once,  while  the  sweetest 
perfume  filled  the  place.  Mary  also  took  a  little  of  the  dust,  and, 
having  scattered  it,  she  saw  white  lilies,  and  the  most  variegated 
pinks,  pushing  up.  At  a  signal  from  Zerina,  the  flowers  disap- 
peared, and  others  rose  in  their  room.  "Now,"  said  Zerina,  "look 
for  something  greater."  She  laid  two  pine-seeds  in  the  ground, 
and  stamped  them  in  sharply  with  her  foot.  Two  green  bushes 
stood  before  them.  "  Grasp  me  fast,"  said  she  ;  and  Mary  threw 
her  arms  about  the  slender  form.  She  felt  herself  borne  upwards; 
for  the  trees  were  springing  under  them  with  the  greatest  speed ; 
the  tall  pines  waved  to  and  fro,  and  the  two  children  held  each 
other  fast  embraced,  swinging  this  way  and  that  in  the  red  clouds 
of  the  twilight,  and  kissed  each  other;  while  the  rest  were  climb- 
ing up  and  down  the  trunks  with  quick  dexterity,  pushing  and 
teasing  one  another  with  loud  laughter  when  they  met ;  if  any  one 
fell  down  in  the  press,  it  flew  through  the  air,  and  sank  slowly  and 


THE  ELVES. 


225 


surely  to  the  ground.  At  length  Mary  was  beginning  to  be  fright- 
ened ;  and  the  other  little  child  sang  a  few  loud  tones,  and  the 
trees  again  sank  down,  and  set  them  on  the  ground  as  gradually 
as  they  had  lifted  them  before  to  the  clouds. 

They  next  went  through  the  brazen  door  of  the  palace.  Here 
many  fair  women,  elderly  and  young,  were  sitting  in  the  round 
hall,  partaking  of  the  fairest  fruits,  and  listening  to  glorious  in- 
visible music.  In  the  vaulting  of  the  ceiling,  palms,  flowers  and 
groves  stood  painted,  among  which  little  figures  of  children  were 
sporting  and  winding  in  every  graceful  posture ;  and  with  the  tones 
of  the  music,  the  images  altered  and  glowed  with  the  most  burn- 
ing colours ;  now  the  blue  and  green  were  sparkling  like  radiant 
light,  now  these  tints  faded  back  in  paleness,  the  purple  flamed 
up,  and  the  gold  took  fire ;  and  then  the  naked  children  seemed 
to  be  alive  among  the  flower-garlands,  and  to  draw  breath,  and 
emit  it  through  their  ruby-coloured  lips ;  so  that  by  fits  you  could 
see  the  glance  of  their  little  white  teeth,  and  the  lighting  up  of 
their  azure  eyes. 

From  the  hall,  a  stair  of  brass  led  down  to  a  subterranean 
chamber.  Here  lay  much  gold  and  silver,  and  precious  stones  of 
every  hue  shone  out  between  them.  Strange  vessels  stood  along 
the  walls,  and  all  seemed  filled  with  costly  things.  The  gold  was 
worked  into  many  forms,  and  glittered  with  the  friendliest  red. 
Many  little  dwarfs  were  busied  sorting  the  pieces  from  the  heap, 
and  putting  them  in  the  vessels ;  others,  hunchbacked  and  bandy- 
legged, with  long  red  noses,  were  tottering  slowly  along,  half- 
bent  to  the  ground,  under  full  sacks,  which  they  bore  as  millers 
do  their  grain ;  and,  with  much  panting,  shaking  out  the  gold- 
dust  on  the  ground.  Then  they  darted  awkwardly  to  the  right 
and  left,  and  caught  the  rolling  balls  that  were  like  to  run  away; 
and  it  happened  now  and  then  that  one  in  his  eagerness  overset 
the  other,  so  that  both  fell  heavily  and  clumsily  to  the  ground. 
They  made  angry  faces,  and  looked  askance,  as  Mary  laughed  at 
their  gestures  and  their  ugliness.  Behind  them  sat  an  old  crum- 
pled little  man,  whom  Zerina  reverently  greeted;  he  thanked  her 
with  a  grave  inclination  of  his  head.  He  held  a  sceptre  in  his 
hand,  and  wore  a  crown  upon  his  brow,  and  all  the  other  dwarfs 
appeared  to  regard  him  as  their  master,  and  obey  his  nod. 

"What  more  wanted?"  asked  he,  with  a  surly  voice,  as  the 
children  came  a  little  nearer.  Mary  was  afraid,  and  did  not  speak ; 
but  her  companion  answered,  they  were  only  come  to  look  about 

vol. in.  Q 


226 


LUDWIG  TIEGK. 


them  in  the  chambers.  "  Still  your  old  child's  tricks  !"  replied 
the  dwarf:  "Will  there  never  be  an  end  to  idleness?"  With 
this,  he  turned  again  to  his  employment,  kept  his  people  weigh- 
ing and  sorting  the  ingots ;  some  he  sent  away  on  errands,  some 
he  chid  with  angry  tones. 

"Who  is  the  gentleman?"  said  Mary. 

"  Our  Metal-Prince,"  replied  Zerina,  as  they  walked  along. 

They  seemed  once  more  to  reach  the  open  air,  for  they  were 
standing  by  a  lake,  yet  no  sun  appeared,  and  they  saw  no  sky 
above  their  heads.  A  little  boat  received  them,  and  Zerina  steered 
it  diligently  forwards.  It  shot  rapidly  along.  On  gaining  the 
middle  of  the  lake,  the  stranger  saw  that  multitudes  of  pipes, 
channels  and  brooks,  were  spreading  from  the  little  sea  in  every 
direction.  "  These  waters  to  the  right,"  said  Zerina,  ' '  flow  be- 
neath your  garden,  and  this  is  why  it  blooms  so  freshly ;  by  the 
other  side  we  get  down  into  the  great  stream."  On  a  sudden, 
out  of  all  the  channels,  and  from  every  quarter  of  the  lake,  came 
a  crowd  of  little  children  swimming  up ;  some  wore  garlands  of 
sedge  and  water-lily ;  some  had  red  stems  of  coral,  others  were 
blowing  on  crooked  shells ;  a  tumultuous  noise  echoed  merrily 
from  the  dark  shores ;  among  the  children  might  be  seen  the  fair- 
est women  sporting  in  the  waters,  and  often  several  of  the  children 
sprang  about  some  one  of  them,  and  with  kisses  hung  upon  her 
neck  and  shoulders.  All  saluted  the  strangers  ;  and  these  steered 
onwards  through  the  revelry  out  of  the  lake,  into  a  little  river, 
which  grew  narrower  and  narrower.  At  last  the  boat  came 
aground.  The  strangers  took  their  leave,  and  Zerina  knocked 
against  the  cliff.  This  opened  like  a  door,  and  a  female  form, 
all  red,  assisted  them  to  mount.  "  Are  you  all  brisk  here  ?"  in- 
quired Zerina.  "  They  are  just  at  work,"  replied  the  other,  "  and 
happy  as  they  could  wish ;  indeed,  the  heat  is  very  pleasant." 

They  went  up  a  winding  stair,  and  on  a  sudden  Mary  found 
herself  in  a  most  resplendent  hall,  so  that  as  she  entered,  her 
eyes  were  dazzled  by  the  radiance.  Flame  -  coloured  tapestry 
covered  the  walls  with  a  purple  glow;  and  when  her  eye  had 
grown  a  little  used  to  it,  the  stranger  saw,  to  her  astonishment, 
that,  in  the  tapestry,  there  were  figures  moving  up  and  down  in 
dancing  joyfulness ;  in  form  so  beautiful,  and  of  so  fair  propor- 
tions, that  nothing  could  be  seen  more  graceful ;  their  bodies 
were  as  of  red  crystal,  so  that  it  appeared  as  if  the  blood  were 
visible  within  them,  flowing  and  playing  in  its  courses.  They 


THE  ELVES. 


227 


smiled  on  the  stranger,  and  saluted  her  with  various  bows ;  hut 
as  Mary  was  about  approaching  nearer  them,  Zerina  plucked 
her  sharply  back,  crying:  "  Thou  wilt  burn  thyself,  my  little 
Mary,  for  the  whole  of  it  is  fire." 

Mary  felt  the  heat.  "  Why  do  the  pretty  creatures  not  come 
out,"  said  she,  "  and  play  with  us  ?" 

"  As  thou  livest  in  the  Air,"  replied  the  other,  "  so  are  they 
obliged  to  stay  continually  in  Fire,  and  would  faint  and  languish 
if  they  left  it.  Look  now,  how  glad  they  are,  how  they  la^gh  and 
shout ;  those  down  below  spread  out  the  fire-floods  everywhere 
beneath  the  earth,  and  thereby  the  flowers,  and  fruits,  and  wine, 
are  made  to  flourish ;  these  red  streams  again,  are  to  run  beside 
the  brooks  of  water ;  and  thus  the  fiery  creatures  are  kept  ever 
busy  and  glad.  But  for  thee  it  is  too  hot  here ;  let  us  return  to 
the  garden." 

In  the  garden,  the  scene  had  changed  since  they  left  it.  The 
moonshine  was  lying  on  every  flower ;  the  birds  were  silent,  and 
the  children  were  asleep  in  complicated  groups,  among  the  green 
groves.  Mary  and  her  friend,  however,  did  not  feel  fatigue,  but 
walked  about  in  the  warm  summer  night,  in  abundant  talk,  till 
morning. 

When  the  day  dawned,  they  refreshed  themselves  on  fruit 
and  milk,  and  Mary  said  :  ' '  Suppose  we  go,  by  way  of  change,  to 
the  firs,  and  see  how  things  look  there  ?" 

4 *  With  all  my  heart,"  replied  Zerina;  "  thou  wilt  see  our 
watchmen  too,  and  they  will  surely  please  thee  ;  they  are  stand- 
ing up  among  the  trees  on  the  mound."  The  two  proceeded 
through  the  flower-garden  by  pleasant  groves,  full  of  nightingales ; 
then  they  ascended  a  vine-hill ;  and  at  last,  after  long  following 
the  windings  of  a  clear  brook,  arrived  at  the  firs,  and  the  height 
which  bounded  the  domain.  "How  does  it  come,"  said  Mary, 
"  that  we  have  to  walk  so  far  here,  when  without,  the  circuit  is 
so  narrow  ?" 

"  I  know  not,"  said  her  friend;  "but  so  it  is." 

They  mounted  to  the  dark  firs,  and  a  chill  wind  blew  from 
without  in  their  faces ;  a  haze  seemed  lying  far  and  wide  over 
the  landscape.  On  the  top  were  many  strange  forms  standing  ; 
with  mealy,  dusty  faces ;  their  misshapen  heads  not  unlike  those 
of  white  owls  ;  they  were  clad  in  folded  cloaks  of  shaggy  wool  ; 
they  held  umbrellas  of  curious  skins  stretched  out  above  them  ; 
and  they  waved  and  fanned  themselves  incessantly  with  large  bat's 


228 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


wings,  which  flared  out  curiously  heside  the  woollen  roquelaures. 
"  I  could  laugh,  yet  I  am  frightened,"  cried  Mary. 

"  These  are  our  good  trusty  watchmen,"  said  her  playmate; 
' 1  they  stand  here  and  wave  their  fans,  that  cold  anxiety  and  inex- 
plicable fear  may  fall  on  every  one  that  attempts  to  approach  us. 
They  are  covered  so,  because  without  it  is  now  cold  and  rainy, 
which  they  cannot  bear.  But  snow,  or  wind,  or  cold  air,  never 
reaches  down  to  us  ;  here  is  an  everlasting  spring  and  summer  : 
yet  if  these  poor  people  on  the  top  were  not  frequently  relieved, 
they  would  certainly  perish." 

"But  who  are  you,  then  ?"  said  Mary,  while  again  descend- 
ing to  the  flowery  fragrance  ;  <£  or  have  you  no  name  at  all  ?" 

"We  are  called  the  Elves,"  replied  the  friendly  child; 
"people  talk  about  us  in  the  Earth,  as  I  have  heard." 

They  now  perceived  a  mighty  bustle  on  the  green.  "  The 
fair  Bird  is  come  !"  cried  the  children  to  them  :  all  hastened  to 
the  hall.  Here,  as  they  approached,  young  and  old  were  crowd- 
ing over  the  threshold,  all  shouting  for  joy;  and  from  within 
resounded  a  triumphant  peal  of  music.  Having  entered,  they 
perceived  the  vast  circuit  filled  with  the  most  varied  forms,  and 
all  were  looking  upwards  to  a  large  Bird  with  glancing  plumage, 
that  was  sweeping  slowly  round  in  the  dome,  and  in  its  stately 
flight  describing  many  a  circle.  The  music  sounded  more  gaily 
than  before  ;  the  colours  and  lights  alternated  more  rapidly.  At 
last  the  music  ceased ;  and  the  Bird,  with  a  rustling  noise,  floated 
down  upon  a  glittering  crown  that  hung  hovering  in  air  under  the 
high  window,  by  which  the  hall  was  lighted  from  above.  His 
plumage  was  purple  and  green,  and  shining  golden  streaks  played 
through  it ;  on  his  head  there  waved  a  diadem  of  feathers,  so 
resplendent  that  they  glanced  like  jewels.  His  bill  was  red,  and 
his  legs  of  a  glancing  blue.  As  he  moved,  the  tints  gleamed 
through  each  other,  and  the  eye  was  charmed  with  their  radiance. 
His  size  was  as  that  of  an  eagle.  But  now  he  opened  his  glitter- 
ing beak ;  and  sweetest  melodies  came  pouring  from  his  moved 
breast,  in  finer  tones  than  the  lovesick  nightingale  gives  forth ; 
still  stronger  rose  the  song,  and  streamed  like  floods  of  Light,  so 
that  all,  the  very  children  themselves,  were  moved  by  it  to  tears 
of  joy  and  rapture.  When  he  ceased,  all  bowed  before  him;  he 
again  flew  round  the  dome  in  circles,  then  darted  through  the 
door,  and  soared  into  the  light  heaven,  where  he  shone  far  up 
like  a  red  point,  and  then  soon  vanished  from  their  eyes. 


THE  ELVES. 


229 


''Why  are  ye  all  so  glad?"  inquired  Mary,  bending  to  her 
fair  playmate,  who  seemed  smaller  than  yesterday. 

"  The  King  is  coming!"  said  the  little  one;  "many  of  us 
have  never  seen  him,  and  whithersoever  he  turns  his  face,  there 
is  happiness  and  mirth  ;  we  have  long  looked  for  him,  more 
anxiously  than  you  look  for  spring  when  winter  lingers  with  you  ; 
and  now  he  has  announced,  by  his  fair  herald,  that  he  is  at  hand. 
This  wise  and  glorious  Bird,  that  has  been  sent  to  us  by  the 
King,  is  called  Phoenix ;  he  dwells  far  off  in  Arabia,  on  a  tree, 
which  there  is  no  other  that  resembles  on  Earth,  as  in  like  manner 
there  is  no  second  Phoenix.  When  he  feels  himself  grown  old, 
he  builds  a  pile  of  balm  and  incense,  kindles  it,  and  dies  singing ; 
and  then  from  the  fragrant  ashes,  soars  up  the  renewed  Phoenix 
with  unlessened  beauty.  It  is  seldom  he  so  wings  his  course  that 
men  behold  him ;  and  when  once  in  centuries  this  does  occur, 
they  note  it  in  their  annals,  and  expect  remarkable  events.  But 
uow,  my  friend,  thou  and  I  must  part ;  for  the  sight  of  the  King 
is  not  permitted  thee." 

Then  the  lady  with  the  golden  robe  came  through  the  throng, 
and  beckoning  Mary  to  her,  led  her  into  a  sequestered  walk. 
"  Thou  must  leave  us,  my  dear  child,"  said  she ;  "the  King  is 
to  hold  his  court  here  for  twenty  years,  perhaps  longer ;  and  fruit- 
fulness  and  blessings  will  spread  far  over  the  land,  but  chiefly 
here  beside  us  ;  all  the  brooks  and  rivulets  will  become  more 
bountiful,  all  the  fields  and  gardens  richer,  the  wine  more  gener- 
ous, the  meadows  more  fertile,  and  the  woods  more  fresh  and 
green ;  a  milder  air  will  blow,  no  hail  shall  hurt,  no  flood  shall 
threaten.  Take  this  ring,  and  think  of  us  :  but  beware  of  telling 
any  one  of  our  existence  ;  or  we  must  fly  this  land,  and  thou  and 
all  around  will  lose  the  happiness  and  blessing  of  our  neighbour- 
hood. Once  more,  kiss  thy  playmate,  and  farewell."  They  issued 
from  the  walk ;  Zerina  wept,  Mary  stooped  to  embrace  her,  and 
they  parted.  Already  she  was  on  the  narrow  bridge  ;  the  cold 
air  was  blowing  on  her  back  from  the  firs ;  the  little  dog  barked 
with  all  its  might,  and  rang  its  little  bell ;  she  looked  round,  then 
hastened  over,  for  the  darkness  of  the  firs,  the  bleakness  of  the 
ruined  huts,  the  shadows  of  the  twilight,  were  filling  her  with 
terror. 

"  What  a  night  my  parents  must  have  had  on  my  account !" 
said  she  within  herself,  as  she  stept  on  the  green ;  "  and  I  dare 
not  tell  them  where  I  have  been,  or  what  wonders  I  have  wit- 


230 


LUDWIG  TxECK, 


nessed,  nor  indeed  would  they  believe  me."  Two  men  passing  by 
saluted  her ;  and  as  they  went  along,  she  heard  them  say  :  "What 
a  pretty  girl !  Where  can  she  come  from  ?"  With  quickened  steps 
she  approached  the  house  :  but  the  trees  which  were  hanging  last 
night  loaded  with  fruit,  were  now  standing  dry  and  leafless ;  the 
house  was  differently  painted,  and  a  new  barn  had  been  built 
beside  it.  Mary  was  amazed,  and  thought  she  must  be  dream- 
ing. In  this  perplexity  she  opened  the  door ;  and  behind  the 
table  sat  her  father,  between  an  unknown  woman  and  a  stranger 
youth.  "Good  God  !  Father,"  cried  she,  "  where  is  my  mother?" 

"  Thy  mother  !"  said  the  woman,  with  a  forecasting  tone,  and 
sprang  towards  her  :  "Ha,  thou  surely  canst  not — Yes,  indeed, 
indeed  thou  art  my  lost,  long-lost  dear,  only  Mary!"  She  had 
recognised  her  by  a  little  brown  mole  beneath  the  chin,  as  well 
as  by  her  eyes  and  shape.  All  embraced  her,  all  were  moved  with 
joy,  and  the  parents  wept.  Mary  was  astonished  that  she  almost 
reached  to  her  father's  stature ;  and  she  could  not  understand 
how  her  mother  had  become  so  changed  and  faded ;  she  asked 
the  name  of  the  stranger  youth.  "It  is  our  neighbour's  Andres," 
said  Martin.  "  How  comest  thou  to  us  again,  so  unexpectedly, 
after  seven  long  years  ?  Where  hast  thou  been  ?  Why  didst  thou 
never  send  us  tidings  of  thee  ?" 

"  Seven  years  !"  said  Mary,  and  could  not  order  her  ideas  and 
recollections.    "  Seven  whole  years  ?" 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  Andres,  laughing,  and  shaking  her  trust- 
fully by  the  hand ;  "I  have  won  the  race,  good  Mary ;  I  was  at 
the  pear-tree  and  back  again  seven  years  ago,  and  thou,  sluggish 
creature,  art  but  just  returned  !" 

They  again  asked,  they  pressed  her ;  but  remembering  her 
instruction,  she  could  answer  nothing.  It  was  they  themselves 
chiefly  that,  by  degrees,  shaped  a  story  for  her  :  How,  having  lost 
her  way,  she  had  been  taken  up  by  a  coach,  and  carried  to  a 
strange  remote  part,  where  she  could  not  give  the  people  any 
notion  of  her  parents'  residence  ;  how  she  was  conducted  to  a 
distant  town,  where  certain  worthy  persons  brought  her  up  and 
loved  her ;  how  they  had  lately  died,  and  at  length  she  had  recol- 
lected her  birthplace,  and  so  returned.  "  No  matter  how  it  is  !" 
exclaimed  her  mother;  "enough,  that  we  have  thee  again,  my 
little  daughter,  my  own,  my  all !" 

Andres  waited  supper,  and  Mary  could  not  be  at  home  in 
anything  she  saw.    The  house  seemed  small  and  dark ;  she  felt 


THE  ELVES. 


231 


astonished  at  her  dress,  which  was  clean  and  simple,  but  appeared 
quite  foreign  ;  she  looked  at  the  ring  on  her  finger,  and  the  gold 
of  it  glittered  strangely,  enclosing  a  stone  of  burning  red.  To  her 
father's  question,  she  replied  that  the  ring  also  was  a  present 
from  her  benefactors. 

She  was  glad  when  the  hour  of  sleep  arrived,  and  she  hastened 
to  her  bed.  Next  morning  she  felt  much  more  collected ;  she  had 
now  arranged  her  thoughts  a  little,  and  could  better  stand  the 
questions  of  the  people  in  the  village,  all  of  whom  came  in  to  bid 
her  welcome.  Andres  was  there  too  with  the  earliest,  active,  glad, 
and  serviceable  beyond  all  others.  The  blooming  maiden  of  fifteen 
had  made  a  deep  impression  on  him ;  he  had  passed  a  sleepless 
night.  The  people  of  the  castle  likewise  sent  for  Mary,  and  she 
had  once  more  to  tell  her  story  to  them,  which  was  now  grown 
quite  familiar  to  her.  The  old  Count  and  his  Lady  were  surprised 
at  her  good-breeding ;  she  was  modest,  but  not  embarrassed ;  she 
made  answer  courteously  in  good  phrases  to  all  their  questions ; 
all  fear  of  noble  persons  and  their  equipage  had  passed  away  from 
her ;  for  when  she  measured  these  halls  and  forms  by  the  wonders 
and  the  high  beauty  she  had  seen  with  the  Elves  in  their  hidden 
abode,  this  earthly  splendour  seemed  but  dim  to  her,  the  presence 
of  men  was  almost  mean.  The  young  lords  were  charmed  with 
her  beauty. 

It  was  now  February.  The  trees  were  budding  earlier  than 
usual ;  the  nightingale  had  never  come  so  soon ;  the  spring  rose 
fairer  in  the  land  than  the  oldest  men  could  recollect  it.  In 
every  quarter,  little  brooks  gushed  out  to  irrigate  the  pastures 
and  meadows ;  the  hills  seemed  heaving,  the  vines  rose  higher 
and  higher,  the  fruit-trees  blossomed  as  they  had  never  done ; 
and  a  swelling  fragrant  blessedness  hung  suspended  heavily  in 
rosy  clouds  over  the  scene.  All  prospered  beyond  expectation : 
no  rude  day,  no  tempest  injured  the  fruits ;  the  wine  flowed 
blushing  in  immense  grapes ;  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  place 
felt  astonished,  and  were  captivated  as  in  a  sweet  dream.  The 
next  year  was  like  its  forerunner  ;  but  men  had  now  become 
accustomed  to  the  marvellous.  In  autumn,  Mary  yielded  to  the 
pressing  entreaties  of  Andres  and  her  parents ;  she  was  betrothed 
to  him,  and  in  winter  they  were  married. 

She  often  thought  with  inward  longing  of  her  residence  behind 
the  fir-trees  ;  she  continued  serious  and  still.  Beautiful  as  all 
that  lay  around  her  was,  she  knew  of  something  yet  more  beauti- 


232 


LTJDWIG  TIECK. 


ful ;  and  from  the  remembrance  of  this,  a  faint  regret  attuned  her 
nature  to  soft  melancholy.  It  smote  her  painfully  when  her  father 
and  mother  talked  about  the  gipsies  and  vagabonds,  that  dwelt  in 
the  dark  spot  of  ground.  Often  she  was  on  the  point  of  speaking 
out  in  defence  of  those  good  beings,  whom  she  knew  to  be  the 
benefactors  of  the  land ;  especially  to  Andres,  who  appeared  to 
take  delight  in  zealously  abusing  them  :  yet  still  she  repressed 
the  word  that  was  struggling  to  escape  her  bosom.  So  passed 
this  year ;  in  the  next,  she  was  solaced  by  a  little  daughter,  whom 
she  named  Elfrida,  thinking  of  the  designation  of  her  friendly 
Elves. 

The  young  people  lived  with  Martin  and  Brigitta,  the  house 
being  large  enough  for  all ;  and  helped  their  parents  in  conduct- 
ing their  now  extended  husbandry.  The  little  Elfrida  soon  dis- 
played peculiar  faculties  and  gifts ;  for  she  could  walk  at  a  very 
early  age,  and  could  speak  perfectly  before  she  was  a  twelvemonth 
old  ;  and  after  some  few  years,  she  had  become  so  wise  and  clever, 
and  of  such  wondrous  beauty,  that  all  people  regarded  her  with 
astonishment ;  and  her  mother  could  not  keep  away  the  thought 
that  her  child  resembled  one  of  those  shining  little  ones  in  the 
space  behind  the  Firs.  Elfrida  cared  not  to  be  with  other  chil- 
dren ;  but  seemed  to  avoid,  with  a  sort  of  horror,  their  tumultuous 
amusements  ;  and  liked  best  to  be  alone.  She  would  then  retire 
into  a  corner  of  the  garden,  and  read,  or  work  diligently  with  her 
needle ;  often  also  you  might  see  her  sitting,  as  if  deep  sunk  in 
thought ;  or  violently  walking  up  and  down  the  alleys,  speaking 
to  herself.  Her  parents  readily  allowed  her  to  have  her  will  in 
these  things,  for  she  was  healthy,  and  waxed  apace  ;  only  her 
strange  sagacious  answers  and  observations  often  made  them 
anxious.  "  Such  wise  children  do  not  grow  to  age,"  her  grand- 
mother, Brigitta,  many  times  observed;  "they  are  too  good  for 
this  world;  the  child,  besides,  is  beautiful  beyond  nature,  and 
will  never  find  its  proper  place  on  Earth." 

The  little  girl  had  this  peculiarity,  that  she  was  very  loath  to 
let  herself  be  served  by  any  one,  but  endeavoured  to  do  every- 
thing herself.  She  was  almost  the  earliest  riser  in  the  house  ;  she 
washed  herself  carefully,  and  dressed  without  assistance  :  at  night 
she  was  equally  careful ;  she  took  special  heed  to  pack  up  her 
clothes  and  washes  with  her  own  hands,  allowing  no  one,  not  even 
her  mother,  to  meddle  with  her  articles.  The  mother  humoured 
her  in  this  caprice,  not  thinking  it  of  any  consequence.  But  what 


THE  ELVES. 


233 


was  her  astonishment,  when,  happening  one  holiday  to  insist,  re- 
gardless of  Elfrida's  tears  and  screams,  on  dressing  her  out  for  a 
visit  to  the  castle,  she  found  upon  her  breast,  suspended  by  a 
string,  a  piece  of  gold  of  a  strange  form,  which  she  directly  recog- 
nised as  one  of  that  sort  she  had  seen  in  such  abundance  in  the 
subterranean  vault !  The  little  thing  was  greatly  frightened  ;  and 
at  last  confessed  that  she  had  found  it  in  the  garden,  and  as  she 
liked  it  much,  had  kept  it  carefully  :  she  at  the  same  time  prayed 
so  earnestly  and  pressingly  to  have  it  back,  that  Mary  fastened 
it  again  on  its  former  place,  and,  full  of  thoughts,  went  out  with 
her  in  silence  to  the  castle. 

Sidewards  from  the  farmhouse  lay  some  offices  for  the  storing 
of  produce  and  implements ;  and  behind  these  there  was  a  little 
green,  with  an  old  grove,  now  visited  by  no  one,  as,  from  the  new 
arrangement  of  the  buildings,  it  lay  too  far  from  the  garden.  In 
this  solitude  Elfrida  delighted  most ;  and  it  occurred  to  nobody 
to  interrupt  her  here,  so  that  frequently  her  parents  did  not  see 
her  for  half  a  day.  One  afternoon  her  mother  chanced  to  be  in 
these  buildings,  seeking  for  some  lost  article  among  the  lumber ; 
and  she  noticed  that  a  beam  of  light  was  coming  in,  through  a 
chink  in  the  wall.  She  took  a  thought  of  looking  through  this 
aperture,  and  seeing  what  her  child  was  busied  with  ;  and  it  hap- 
pened that  a  stone  was  lying  loose,  and  could  be  pushed  aside,  so 
that  she  obtained  a  view  right  into  the  grove.  Elfrida  was  sitting 
there  on  a  little  bench,  and  beside  her  the  well-known  Zerina ; 
and  the  children  were  playing,  and  amusing  one  another,  in  the 
kindliest  unity.  The  Elf  embraced  her  beautiful  companion,  and 
said  mournfully :  "  Ah  !  dear  little  creature,  as  I  sport  with  thee, 
so  have  I  sported  with  thy  mother,  when  she  was  a  child ;  but 
you  mortals  so  soon  grow  tall  and  thoughtful !  It  is  very  hard  : 
wert  thou  but  to  be  a  child  as  long  as  I !" 

"  Willingly  would  I  do  it,"  said  Elfrida  ;  "  but  they  all  say,  I 
shall  come  to  sense,  and  give  over  playing  altogether ;  for  I  have 
great  gifts,  as  they  think,  for  growing  wise.  Ah  !  and  then  I  shall 
see  thee  no  more,  thou  dear  Zerina  !  Yet  it  is  with  us  as  with  the 
fruit-tree  flowers :  how  glorious  the  blossoming  apple-tree,  with  its 
red  bursting  buds  !  It  looks  so  stately  and  broad ;  and  every  one, 
that  passes  under  it,  thinks  surely  something  great  will  come  of 
it ;  then  the  sun  grows  hot,  and  the  buds  come  joyfully  forth ; 
but  the  wicked  kernel  is  already  there,  which  pushes  off  and  casts 
away  the  fair  flower's  dress ;  and  now,  in  pain  and  waxing,  it  can 


234 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


do  nothing  more,  but  must  grow  to  fruit  in  harvest.  An  apple,  to 
be  sure,  is  pretty  and  refreshing ;  yet  nothing  to  the  blossom  of 
spring.  So  is  it  also  with  us  mortals  :  I  am  not  glad  in  the  least 
at  growing  to  be  a  tall  girl.    Ah  !  could  I  but  once  visit  you  !" 

"  Since  the  King  is  with  us,"  said  Zerina,  "  it  is  quite  impos- 
sible ;  but  I  will  come  to  thee,  my  darling,  often,  often  ;  and  none 
shall  see  me  either  here  or  there.  I  will  pass  invisible  through 
the  air,  or  fly  over  to  thee  like  a  bird.  0  !  we  will  be  much,  much 
together,  while  thou  art  still  little.  What  can  I  do  to  please 
thee?" 

"  Thou  must  like  me  very  dearly,"  said  Elfrida,  "  as  I  like 
thee  in  my  heart.    But  come,  let  us  make  another  rose." 

Zerina  took  the  well-known  box  from  her  bosom,  threw  two 
grains  from  it  on  the  ground ;  and  instantly  a  green  bush  stood 
before  them,  with  two  deep-red  roses,  bending  their  heads,  as  if 
to  kiss  each  other.  The  children  plucked  them  smiling,  and  the 
bush  disappeared.  "0  that  it  would  not  die  so  soon!"  said 
Elfrida ;  "  this  red  child,  this  wonder  of  the  Earth  !" 

"  Give  it  me  here,"  said  the  little  Elf;  then  breathed  thrice 
upon  the  budding  rose,  and  kissed  it  thrice.  "  Now,"  said  she, 
giving  back  the  rose,  "  it  will  continue  fresh  and  blooming  till 
winter." 

"  I  will  keep  it,"  said  Elfrida,  "  as  an  image  of  thee  ;  I  will 
guard  it  in  my  little  room,  and  kiss  it  night  and  morning,  as  if  it 
were  thyself." 

"  The  sun  is  setting,"  said  the  other;  "I  must  home." 
They  embraced  again,  and  Zerina  vanished. 

In  the  evening,  Mary  clasped  her  child  to  her  breast,  with  a 
feeling  of  alarm  and  veneration.  She  henceforth  allowed  the  good 
little  girl  more  liberty  than  formerly ;  and  often  calmed  her  hus- 
band, when  he  came  to  search  for  the  child ;  which  for  some  time 
he  was  wont  to  do,  as  her  retiredness  did  not  please  him;  and  he 
feared  that,  in  the  end,  it  might  make  her  silly,  or  even  pervert 
her  understanding.  The  mother  often  glided  to  the  chink  ;  and 
almost  always  found  the  bright  Elf  beside  her  child,  employed  iD 
sport,  or  in  earnest  conversation. 

"  Wouldst  thou  like  to  fly?"  inquired  Zerina  once. 

"  0  well !  How  well !"  replied  Elfrida ;  and  the  fairy  clasped 
her  mortal  playmate  in  her  arms,  and  mounted  with  her  from  the 
ground,  till  they  hovered  above  the  grove.  The  mother,  in  alarm, 
forgot  herself,  and  pushed  out  hur  head  in  terror  to  look  after 


THE  ELVES. 


235 


them  ;  when  Zerina,  from  the  air,  held  up  her  finger,  and  threat- 
ened yet  smiled ;  then  descended  with  the  child,  embraced  her, 
and  disappeared.  After  this,  it  happened  more  than  once  that 
Mary  was  observed  by  her ;  and  every  time,  the  shining  little 
creature  shook  her  head,  or  threatened,  yet  with  friendly  looks. 

Often,  in  disputing  with  her  husband,  Mary  had  said  in  her 
zeal :  "  Thou  dost  injustice  to  the  poor  people  in  the  hut !"  But 
when  Andres  pressed  her  to  explain  why  she  differed  in  opinion 
from  the  whole  village,  nay  from  his  Lordship  himself;  and  how 
she  could  understand  it  better  than  the  whole  of  them,  she  still 
broke  off  embarrassed,  and  became  silent.  One  day,  after  dinner, 
Andres  grew  more  violent  than  ever ;  and  maintained  that,  by 
one  means  or  another,  the  crew  must  be  packed  away,  as  a 
nuisance  to  the  country ;  when  his  wife,  in  anger,  said  to  him : 
"  Hush  !  for  they  are  benefactors  to  thee  and  to  everyone  of  us." 

"Benefactors!"  cried  the  other,  in  astonishment:  "These 
rogues  and  vagabonds  ?" 

In  her  indignation,  she  was  now  at  last  tempted  to  relate  to 
him,  under  promise  of  the  strictest  secrecy,  the  history  of  her 
youth  :  and  as  Andres  at  every  word  grew  more  incredulous,  and 
shook  his  head  in  mockery,  she  took  him  by  the  hand,  and  led 
him  to  the  chink ;  where,  to  his  amazement,  he  beheld  the  glit- 
tering Elf  sporting  with  his  child,  and  caressing  her  in  the  grove. 
He  knew  not  what  to  say ;  an  exclamation  of  astonishment  es- 
caped him,  and  Zerina  raised  her  eyes.  On  the  instant  she  grew 
pale,  and  trembled  violently ;  not  with  friendly,  but  with  indig- 
nant looks,  she  made  the  sign  of  threatening,  and  then  said  to 
Elfrida  :  "  Thou  canst  not  help  it,  dearest  heart ;  but  they  will 
never  learn  sense,  wise  as  they  believe  themselves."  She  em- 
braced the  little  one  with  stormy  haste  ;  and  then,  in  the  shape  of 
a  raven,  flew  with  hoarse  cries  over  the  garden,  towards  the  Firs. 

In  the  evening,  the  little  one  was  very  still ;  she  kissed  her 
rose  with  tears;  Mary' felt  depressed  and  frightened,  Andres 
scarcely  spoke.  It  grew  dark.  Suddenly  there  went  a  rustling 
through  the  trees  ;  birds  flew  to  and  fro  with  wild  screaming, 
thunder  was  heard  to  roll,  the  Earth  shook,  and  tones  of  lamenta- 
tion moaned  in  the  air.  Andres  and  his  wife  had  not  courage  to 
rise  ;  they  shrouded  themselves  within  the  curtains,  and  with  fear 
and  trembling  awaited  the  day.  Towards  morning,  it  grew  calmer ; 
and  all  was  silent  when  the  Sun,  with  his  cheerful  light,  rose  over 
the  wood. 


236 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


Andres  dressed  himself;  and  Mary  now  observed  that  the 
stone  of  the  ring  upon  her  finger  had  become  quite  pale.  On  open- 
ing the  door,  the  sun  shone  clear  on  their  faces,  but  the  scene 
around  them  they  could  scarcely  recognise.  The  freshness  of  the 
wood  was  gone  ;  the  hills  were  shrunk,  the  brooks  were  flowing 
languidly  with  scanty  streams,  the  sky  seemed  gray ;  and  when 
you  turned  to  the  Firs,  they  were  standing  there  no  darker  or 
more  dreary  than  the  other  trees.  The  huts  behind  them  were 
no  longer  frightful ;  and  several  inhabitants  of  the  village  came 
and  told  about  the  fearful  night,  and  how  they  had  been  across 
the  spot  where  the  gipsies  had  lived ;  how  these  people  must 
have  left  the  place  at  last,  for  their  huts  were  standing  empty, 
and  within  had  quite  a  common  look,  just  like  the  dwellings  of 
other  poor  people  :  some  of  their  household  gear  Was  left  behind. 

Elfrida  in  secret  said  to  her  mother  :  { '  I  could  not  sleep  last 
night ;  and  in  my  fright  at  the  noise,  I  was  praying  from  the  bot- 
tom of  my  heart,  when  the  door  suddenly  opened,  and  my  play- 
mate entered  to  take  leave  of  me.  She  had  a  travelling-pouch 
slung  round  her,  a  hat  on  her  head,  and  a  large  staff  in  her  hand. 
She  was  very  angry  at  thee ;  since  on  thy  account  she  had  now 
to  suffer  the  severest  and  most  painful  punishments,  as  she  had 
always  been  so  fond  of  thee  ;  for  all  of  them,  she  said,  were  very 
loath  to  leave  this  quarter." 

Mary  forbade  her  to  speak  of  this  ;  and  now  the  ferryman 
came  across  the  river,  and  told  them  new  wonders.  As  it  was 
growing  dark,  a  stranger  man  of  large  size  had  come  to  him,  and 
hired  his  boat  till  sunrise  ;  and  with  this  condition,  that  the  boat- 
man should  remain  quiet  in  his  house,  at  least  should  not  cross 
the  threshold  of  his  door.  "I  was  frightened,"  continued  the 
old  man,  "  and  the  strange  bargain  would  not  let  me  sleep.  I 
slipped  softly  to  the  window,  and  looked  towards  the  river.  Great 
clouds  were  driving  restlessly  through  the  sky,  and  the  distant 
woods  were  rustling  fearfully ;  it  was  as  if  my  cottage  shook,  and 
moans  and  lamentations  glided  round  it.  On  a  sudden,  I  per- 
ceived a  white  streaming  light,  that  grew  broader  and  broader, 
like  many  thousands  of  falling  stars;  sparkling  and  waving,  it  pro- 
ceeded forward  from  the  dark  Fir-ground,  moved  over  the  fields, 
and  spread  itself  along  towards  the  river.  Then  I  heard  a  tramp- 
ling, a  jingling,  a  bustling,  and  rushing,  nearer  and  nearer ;  it 
went  forwards  to  my  boat,  and  all  stept  into  it,  men  and  women, 
as  it  seemed,  and  children ;  and  the  tall  stranger  ferried  them 


THE  ELVES. 


237 


over.  In  the  river  were  by  the  boat  swimming  many  thousands 
of  glittering  forms  ;  in  the  air  white  clouds  and  lights  were  waver- 
ing ;  and  all  lamented  and  bewailed  that  they  must  travel  forth 
so  far,  far  away,  and  leave  their  beloved  dwelling.  The  noise  of 
the  rudder  and  the  water  creaked  and  gurgled  between  whiles,  and 
then  suddenly  there  would  be  silence.  Many  a  time  the  boat 
landed,  and  went  back,  and  was  again  laden  ;  many  heavy  casks, 
too,  they  took  along  with  them,  which  multitudes  of  horrid-look- 
ing little  fellows  carried  and  rolled ;  whether  they  were  devils  or 
goblins,  Heaven  only  knows.  Then  came,  in  waving  brightness, 
a  stately  freight ;  it  seemed  an  old  man,  mounted  on  a  small 
white  horse,  and  all  were  crowding  round  him.  I  saw  nothing  of 
the  horse  but  its  head;  for  the  rest  of  it  was  covered  with  costly 
glittering  cloths  and  trappings  :  on  his  brow  the  old  man  had  a 
crown,  so  bright  that,  as  he  came  across,  I  thought  the  sun  was 
rising  there,  and  the  redness  of  the  dawn  glimmering  in  my  eyes. 
Thus  it  went  on  all  night;  I  at  last  fell  asleep  in  the  tumult, 
half  in  joy,  half  in  terror.  In  the  morning  all  was  still ;  but  the 
river  is,  as  it  were,  run  off,  and  I  know  not  how  I  am  to  steer 
my  boat  in  it  now." 

The  same  year  there  came  a  blight;  the  woods  died  away, 
the  springs  ran  dry ;  and  the  scene,  which  had  once  been  the  joy 
of  every  traveller,  was  in  autumn  standing  waste,  naked  and  bald ; 
scarcely  showing  here  and  there,  in  the  sea  of  sand,  a  spot  or  two 
where  grass,  with  a  dingy  greenness,  still  grew  up.  The  fruit- 
trees  all  withered,  the  vines  faded  away,  and  the  aspect  of  the 
place  became  so  melancholy,  that  the  Count,  with  his  people, 
next  year  left  the  castle,  which  in  time  decayed  and  fell  to  ruins. 

Elfrida  gazed  on  her  rose  day  and  night  with  deep  longing, 
and  thought  of  her  kind  playmate ;  and  as  it  drooped  and  withered, 
so  did  she  also  hang  her  head  ;  and  before  the  spring,  the  little 
maiden  had  herself  faded  away.  Mary  often  stood  upon  the  spot 
before  the  hut,  and  wept  for  the  happiness  that  had  departed. 
She  wasted  herself  away  like  her  child,  and  in  a  few  years  she  too 
was  gone.  Old  Martin,  with  his  son-in-law,  returned  to  the 
quarter  where  he  had  lived  before. 


THE  GOBLET. 


The  forenoon  bells  were  sounding  from  the  high  cathedral.  Over 
the  wide  square  in  front  of  it  were  men  and  women  walking  to 
and  fro,  carriages  rolling  along,  and  priests  proceeding  to  their 
various  churches.  Ferdinand  was  standing  on  the  broad  stair, 
with  his  eyes  over  the  multitude,  looking  at  them  as  they  came 
up  to  attend  the  service.  The  sunshine  glittered  on  the  white 
stones,  all  were  seeking  shelter  from  the  heat.  He  alone  had 
stood  for  a  long  time  leaning  on  a  pillar,  amid  the  burning  beams, 
without  regarding  them;  for  he  was  lost  in  the  remembrances 
which  mounted  up  within  his  mind.  He  was  calling  back  his 
bygone  life ;  and  inspiring  his  soul  with  the  feeling  which  had 
penetrated  all  his  being,  and  swallowed  up  every  other  wish  in 
itself.  At  the  same  hour,  in  the  past  year,  had  he  been  standing 
here,  looking  at  the  women  and  the  maidens  coming  to  mass ; 
with  indifferent  heart,  and  smiling  face,  he  had  viewed  the  varie- 
gated procession ;  many  a  kind  look  had  roguishly  met  his,  and 
many  a  virgin  cheek  had  blushed ;  his  busy  eye  had  observed  the 
pretty  feet,  how  they  mounted  the  steps,  and  how  the  wavering 
robe  fell  more  or  less  aside,  to  let  the  dainty  little  ankles  come 
to  sight.  Then  a  youthful  form  had  crossed  the  square  :  clad  in 
black ;  slender,  and  of  noble  mien,  her  eyes  modestly  cast  down 
before  her,  carelessly  she  hovered  up  the  steps  with  lovely  grace ; 
the  silken  robe  lay  round  that  fairest  of  forms,  and  rocked  itself 
as  in  music  about  the  moving  limbs  ;  she  was  mounting  the  high- 
est step,  when  by  chance  she  raised  her  head,  and  struck  his  eye 
with  a  ray  of  the  purest  azure.  He  was  pierced  as  if  by  light- 
ning.   Her  foot  caught  the  robe ;  and  quickly  as  he  darted  to- 


THE  GOBLET. 


239 


wards  her,  he  could  not  prevent  her  having,  for  a  moment,  in  the 
most  charming  posture,  lain  kneeling  at  his  feet.  He  raised  her; 
she  did  not  look  at  him,  she  was  all  one  blush ;  nor  did  she  ans- 
wer his  inquiry  whether  she  was  hurt.  He  followed  her  into  the 
church :  his  soul  saw  nothing  but  the  image  of  that  form  kneeling 
before  him,  and  that  loveliest  of  bosoms  bent  towards  him.  Next 
day  he  visited  the  threshold  of  the  church  again ;  for  him  that 
spot  was  consecrated  ground.  He  had  been  intending  to  pursue 
his  travels,  his  friends  were  expecting  him  impatiently  at  home ; 
but  from  henceforth  his  native  country  was  here,  his  heart  and 
its  wishes  were  inverted.  He  saw  her  often,  she  did  not  shun 
him ;  yet  it  was  but  for  a  few  separate  and  stolen  moments ;  for 
her  wealthy  family  observed  her  strictly,  and  still  more  a  powerful 
and  jealous  bridegroom.  They  mutually  confessed  their  love,  but 
knew  not  what  to  do ;  for  he  was  a  stranger,  and  could  offer  his 
beloved  no  such  splendid  fortune  as  she  was  entitled  to  expect. 
He  now  felt  his  poverty ;  yet  when  he  reflected  on  his  former  way 
of  life,  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  was  passing  rich ;  for  his  exist- 
ence was  rendered  holy,  his  heart  floated  forever  in  the  fairest 
emotion ;  Nature  was  now  become  his  friend,  and  her  beauty  lay 
revealed  to  him  ;  he  felt  himself  no  longer  alien  from  worship  and 
religion ;  and  he  now  crossed  this  threshold,  and  the  mysterious 
dimness  of  the  temple,  with  far  other  feelings  than  in  former  days 
of  levity.  He  withdrew  from  his  acquaintances,  and  lived  only 
to  love.  When  he  walked  through  her  street,  and  saw  her  at  the 
window,  he  was  happy  for  the  day.  He  had  often  spoken  to  her 
in  the  dusk  of  the  evening  ;  her  garden  was  adjacent  to  a  friend's, 
who,  however,  did  not  know  his  secret.  Thus  a  year  had  passed 
away. 

All  these  scenes  of  his  new  existence  again  moved  through 
his  remembrance.  He  raised  his  eyes  ;  that  noble  form  was  even 
then  gliding  over  the  square  ;  she  shone  out  of  the  confused  mul- 
titude like  a  sun.  A  lovely  music  sounded  in  his  longing  heart ; 
and  as  she  approached,  he  retired  into  the  church.  He  offered 
her  the  holy  water ;  her  white  fingers  trembled  as  they  touched 
his,  she  bowed  with  grateful  kindness.  He  followed  her,  and 
knelt  down  near  her.  His  whole  heart  was  melting  in  sadness* 
and  love ;  it  seemed  to  him  as  if,  from  the  wounds  of  longing, 
his  being  were  bleeding  away  in  fervent  prayers ;  every  word  of 
the  priest  went  through  him,  every  tone  of  the  music  poured  new 
devotion  into  his  bosom;  his  lips  quivered,  as  the  fair  maideia 


240 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


pressed  the  crucifix  of  her  rosary  to  her  ruby  mouth.  How  dim 
had  been  his  apprehension  of  this  Faith  and  this  Love  before  ! 
The  priest  elevated  the  Host,  and  the  bell  sounded ;  she  bowed 
more  humbly,  and  crossed  her  breast ;  and,  like  a  flash,  it  struck 
through  all  his  powers  and  feelings,  and  the  image  on  the  altar 
seemed  alive,  and  the  coloured  dimness  of  the  windows  as  a  light 
of  paradise ;  tears  flowed  fast  from  his  eyes,  and  allayed  the 
swelling  fervour  of  his  heart. 

The  service  was  concluded.  He  again  offered  her  the  conse- 
crated font ;  they  spoke  some  words,  and  she  withdrew.  He  stayed 
behind,  in  order  to  excite  no  notice ;  he  looked  after  her  till  the 
hem  of  her  garment  vanished  round  the  corner ;  and  he  felt  like 
the  wanderer,  weary  and  astray,  from  whom,  in  the  thick  forest, 
the  last  gleam  of  the  setting  sun  departs.  He  awoke  from  his 
dream,  as  an  old  withered  hand  slapped  him  on  the  shoulder,  and 
some  one  called  him  by  name. 

He  started  back,  and  recognised  his  friend,  the  testy  old  Al- 
bert, who  lived  apart  from  men,  and  whose  solitary  house  was 
open  to  Ferdinand  alone  :  "Do  you  remember  our  engagement  ?" 
said  the  hoarse  husky  voice.  "  0  yes,"  said  Ferdinand  :  "  and 
will  you  perform  your  promise  today?" 

"  This  very  hour,"  replied  the  other,  "if  you  like  to  follow 
me." 

They  walked  through  the  city  to  a  remote  street,  and  there 
entered  a  large  edifice.  "  Today,"  said  the  old  man,  "  you  must 
push  through  with  me  into  my  most  solitary  chamber,  that  we 
may  not  be  disturbed."  They  passed  through  many  rooms,  then 
along  some  stairs  ;  they  wound  their  way  through  passages  :  and 
Ferdinand,  who  had  thought  himself  familiar  with  the  house,  was 
now  astonished  at  the  multitude  of  apartments,  and  the  singular 
arrangement  of  the  spacious  building ;  but  still  more  that  the  old 
man,  a  bachelor,  and  without  family,  should  inhabit  it  by  himself, 
with  a  few  servants,  and  never  let  out  any  part  of  the  superfluous 
room  to  strangers.  Albert  at  length  unbolted  the  door,  and  said  : 
"  Now,  here  is  the  place."  They  entered  a  large  high  chamber, 
hung  round  with  red  damask,  which  was  trimmed  with  golden 
listings  ;  the  chairs  were  of  the  same  stuff ;  and,  through  heavy 
red  silk  curtains  covering  the  windows,  came  a  purple  light. 
"Wait  a  little,"  said  the  old  man,  and  went  into  another  room. 
Ferdinand  took  up  some  books  :  he  found  them  to  contain  strange 
unintelligible  characters,  circles  and  lines,  with  many  curious 


THE  GOBLET. 


241 


plates ;  and  from  the  little  he  could  read,  they  seemed  to  be 
works  on  alchemy ;  he  was  aware  already  that  the  old  man  had 
the  reputation  of  a  gold-maker.  A  lute  was  lying  on  the  table, 
singularly  overlaid  with  mother-of-pearl,  and  coloured  wood ;  and 
representing  birds  and  flowers  in  very  splendid  forms.  The  star 
in  the  middle  was  a  large  piece  of  mother-of-pearl,  worked  in  the 
most  skilful  manner  into  many  intersecting  circular  figures,  al- 
most like  the  centre  of  a  window  in  a  Gothic  church.  "You  are 
looking  at  my  instrument, ' '  said  Albert,  coming  back ;  * '  it  is 
two  hundred  years  old :  I  brought  it  with  me  as  a  memorial  of 
my  journey  into  Spain.  But  let  us  leave  all  that,  and  do  you 
take  a  seat." 

They  sat  down  beside  the  table,  which  was  likewise  covered 
with  a  red  cloth ;  and  the  old  man  placed  upon  it  something 
which  was  carefully  wrapped  up.  "From  pity  to  your  youth,'' 
he  began,  "  I  promised  lately  to  predict  to  you  whether  you  could 
ever  become  happy  or  not ;  and  this  promise  I  will  in  the  present 
hour  perform,  though  you  hold  the  matter  only  as  a  jest.  You 
need  not  be  alarmed ;  for  what  I  purpose  will  take  place  without 
danger ;  no  dread  invocations  shall  be  made  by  me,  nor  shall  any 
horrid  apparition  terrify  your  senses.  The  business  I  am  on  may 
fail  in  two  ways :  either  if  you  do  not  love  so  truly  as  you  have 
been  willing  to  persuade  me ;  for  then  my  labour  is  in  vain,  and 
nothing  will  disclose  itself ;  or,  if  you  shall  disturb  the  oracle  and 
destroy  it  by  a  useless  question,  or  a  hasty  movement,  should  you 
leave  your  seat  and  dissipate  the  figure ;  you  must  therefore  pro- 
mise me  to  keep  yourself  quite  still." 

Ferdinand  gave  his  word,  and  the  old  man  unfolded  from  its 
cloths  the  packet  he  had  placed  on  the  table.  It  was  a  golden 
goblet,  of  very  skilful  and  beautiful  workmanship.  Bound  its 
broad  foot  ran  a  garland  of  flowers,  intertwined  with  myrtles,  and 
various  other  leaves  and  fruits,  worked  out  in  high  chasing  with 
dim  and  with  brilliant  gold.  A  corresponding  ring,  but  still 
richer,  with  figures  of  children,  and  wild  little  animals  playing 
with  them,  or  flying  from  them,  wound  itself  about  the  middle  of 
the  cup.  The  bowl  was  beautifully  turned ;  it  bent  itself  back 
at  the  top  as  if  to  meet  the  lips ;  and  within,  the  gold  sparkled 
with  a  red  glow.  Old  Albert  placed  the  cup  between  him  and 
the  youth,  whom  he  then  beckoned  to  come  nearer.  "  Do  you 
not  feel  something,"  said  he,  "  when  your  eye  loses  itself  in  this 
splendour  ?" 

VOL.  III.  R 


242 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


"Yes,"  answered  Ferdinand,  "this  brightness  glances  into 
my  inmost  heart ;  I  might  almost  say  I  felt  it  like  a  kiss  in  my 
longing  bosom." 

"It  is  right,  then  !"  said  the  old  man.  " Now  let  not  yonr 
eyes  wander  any  more,  but  fix  them  steadfastly  on  the  glittering 
of  this  gold,  and  think  as  intensely  as  you  can  of  the  woman 
whom  you  love." 

Both  sat  quiet  for  a  while,  looking  earnestly  upon  the  gleam- 
ing cup.  Ere  long,  however,  Albert,  with  mute  gestures,  began, 
at  first  slowly,  then  faster,  and  at  last  in  rapid  movements,  to 
whirl  his  outstretched  finger  in  a  constant  circle  round  the  glitter 
of  the  bowl.  Then  he  paused,  and  recommenced  his  circles  in 
the  opposite  direction.  After  this  had  lasted  for  a  little,  Ferdi- 
nand began  to  think  he  heard  the  sound  of  music ;  it  came  as 
from  without,  in  some  distant  street,  but  soon  the  tones  ap- 
proached, they  quivered  more  distinctly  through  the  air ;  and  at 
last  no  doubt  remained  with  him  that  they  were  flowing  from  the 
hollow  of  the  cup.  The  music  became  stronger,  and  of  such 
piercing  power,  that  the  young  man's  heart  was  throbbing  to  the 
notes,  and  tears  were  flowing  from  his  eyes.  Busily  old  Albert's 
hand  now  moved  in  various  lines  across  the  mouth  of  the  goblet ; 
and  it  seemed  as  if  sparks  were  issuing  from  his  fingers,  and 
darting  in  forked  courses  to  the  gold,  and  tinkling  as  they  met 
it.  The  glittering  points  increased  ;  and  followed,  as  if  strung 
on  threads,  the  movements  of  his  finger  to  and  fro  ;  they  shone 
with  various  hues,  and  crowded  more  and  more  together  till  they 
joined  in  unbroken  lines.  And  now  it  seemed  as  if  the  old  man, 
in  the  red  dusk,  were  stretching  a  wondrous  net  over  the  gleam- 
ing gold ;  for  he  drew  the  beams  this  way  and  that  at  pleasure, 
and  wove  up  with  them  the  opening  of  the  bowl ;  they  obeyed 
him,  and  remained  there  like  a  cover,  wavering  to  and  fro,  and 
playing  into  one  another.  Having  so  fixed  them,  he  again  de- 
scribed the  circle  round  the  rim ;  the  music  then  moved  oft,  grew 
fainter  and  fainter,  and  at  last  died  away.  While  the  tones  de- 
parted, the  sparkling  net  quivered  to  and  fro  as  in  pain.  In  its 
increasing  agitation  it  broke  in  pieces  ;  and  the  beaming  threads 
rained  down  in  drops  into  the  cup  ;  but  as  the  drops  fell,  there 
arose  from  them  a  ruddy  cloud,  which  moved  within  itself  in 
manifold  eddies,  and  mounted  over  the  brim  like  foam.  A  bright 
point  darted  with  exceeding  swiftness  through  the  cloudy  circle, 
and  began  to  form  the  Image  in  the  midst  of  it.    On  a  sudden 


THE  GOBLET. 


243 


there  looked  out  from  the  vapour  as  it  were  an  eye  ;  over  this 
came  a  playing  and  curling  as  of  golden  locks  ;  and  soon  there 
went  a  soft  blush  up  and  down  the  shadow,  and  Ferdinand  beheld 
the  smiling  face  of  his  beloved,  the  blue  eyes,  the  tender  cheeks, 
the  fair  red  mouth.  The  head  waved  to  and  fro  ;  rose  clearer  and 
more  visible  upon  the  slim  white  neck,  and  nodded  towards  the 
enraptured  youth.  Old  Albert  still  kept  casting  circles  round  the 
cup  ;  and  out  of  it  emerged  the  glancing -shoulders  ;  and  as  the 
fair  form  mounted  more  and  more  from  its  golden  couch,  and  bent 
in  lovely  kindness  this  way  and  that,  the  soft  curved  parted  breasts 
appeared,  and  on  their  summits  two  loveliest  rose-buds  glancing 
with  sweet  secret  red.  Ferdinand  fancied  he  felt  the  breath,  as 
the  beloved  form  bent  waving  towards  him,  and  almost  touched 
him  with  its  glowing  lips  ;  in  his  rapture  he  forgot  his  promise 
and  himself ;  he  started  up  and  clasped  that  ruby  mouth  to  him 
with  a  kiss,  and  meant  to  seize  those  lovely  arms,  and  lift  the 
enrapturing  form  from  its  golden  prison.  Instantly  a  violent 
trembling  quivered  through  the  lovely  shape ;  the  head  and  body 
broke  away  as  in  a  thousand  lines  ;  and  a  rose  was  lying  at  the 
bottom  of  the  goblet,  in  whose  redness  that  sweet  smile  still 
seemed  to  play.  The  longing  young  man  caught  it  and  pressed 
it  to  his  lips  ;  and  in  his  burning  ardour  it  withered  and  melted 
into  air. 

"  Thou  hast  kept  thy  promise  badly,"  said  the  old  man,  with 
an  angry  tone  ;  "  thou  hast  none  but  thyself  to  blame."  He  again 
wrapped  up  the  goblet,  drew  aside  the  curtains,  and  opened  a 
window  :  the  clear  daylight  broke  in  ;  and  Ferdinand,  in  sadness, 
and  with  many  fruitless  excuses,  left  old  Albert  still  in  anger. 

In  an  agitated  mood,  he  hastened  through  the  streets  of  the 
city.  Without  the  gate,  he  sat  down  beneath  the  trees.  She  had 
told  him  in  the  morning  that  she  was  to  go  that  night,  with  some 
relations,  to  the  country.  Intoxicated  with  love,  he  rose,  he  sat, 
he  wandered  in  the  wood  :  that  fair  kind  form  was  still  before 
him,  as  it  flowed  and  mounted  from  the  glowing  gold ;  he  looked 
that  she  would  now  step  forth  to  meet  him  in  the  splendour  of 
her  beauty,  and  again  that  loveliest  image  broke  away  in  pieces 
irom  his  eyes  ;  and  he  was  indignant  at  himself  that,  by  his  rest- 
less passion  and  the  tumult  of  his  senses,  he  should  have  de- 
stroyed the  shape,  and  perhaps  his  hopes,  forever. 

As  the  walk,  in  the  afternoon,  became  crowded,  he  withdrew 
deeper  into  the  thickets  ;  but  he  still  kept  the  distant  highway 


244 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


in  his  eye  ;  and  every  coach  that  issued  from  the  gate  was  care- 
fully examined  by  him. 

The  night  approached.  The  setting  sun  was  throwing  forth 
its  red  splendour,  when  from  the  gate  rushed  out  the  richly  gilded 
coach,  gleaming  with  a  fiery  brightness  in  the  glow  of  evening. 
He  hastened  towards  it.  Her  eye  had  already  seized  him.  Kindly 
and  smilingly  she  leaned  her  glittering  bosom  from  the  window ; 
he  caught  her  soft  salutation  and  signal ;  he  was  standing  by  the 
coach,  her  full  look  fell  on  his,  and  as  she  drew  back  to  move 
away,  the  rose  which  had  adorned  her  bosom  flew  out,  and  lay  at 
his  feet.  He  lifted  it,  and  kissed  it ;  and  he  felt  as  if  it  presaged 
to  him  that  he  should  not  see  his  loved  one  any  more,  that  now 
his  happiness  had  faded  away  from  him  forever. 


Hurried  steps  were  passing  up  stairs  and  down  ;  the  whole 
house  was  in  commotion  ;  all  was  bustle  and  tumult,  preparing 
for  the  great  festivities  of  the  morrow.  The  mother  was  the 
gladdest  and  most  active  ;  the  bride  heeded  nothing,  but  retired 
into  her  chamber  to  meditate  upon  her  changing  destiny.  The 
family  were  still  looking  for  their  elder  son,  the  captain,  with  his 
wife  ;  and  for  two  elder  daughters,  with  their  husbands  :  Leo- 
pold, the  younger,  was  maliciously  busied  in  increasing  the  dis- 
order, and  deepening  the  tumult ;  perplexing  all,  while  he  pre- 
tended to  be  furthering  it.  Agatha,  his  still  unmarried  sister, 
was  in  vain  endeavouring  to  make  him  reasonable,  and  persuade 
him  simply  to  do  nothing,  and  to  let  the  rest  have  peace  ;  but 
her  mother  said  :  ' '  Never  mind  him  and  his  folly ;  for  today  a 
little  more  or  less  of  it  amounts  to  nothing  ;  only  this  I  beg  of 
one  and  all  of  you,  that  as  I  have  so  much  to  think  about  already, 
you  would  trouble  me  with  no  fresh  tidings,  unless  it  be  of  some- 
thing that  especially  concerns  us.  I  care  not  whether  any  one 
have  let  some  china  fall,  whether  one  spoon  or  two  spoons  are 
wanting,  whether  any  of  the  stranger  servants  have  been  break- 
ing windows  ;  with  all  such  freaks  as  these,  I  beg  you  would  not 
vex  me  by  recounting  them.  Were  these  days  of  tumult  over, 
we  will  reckon  matters  ;  not  till  then." 

"  Bravely  spoken,  mother!"  cried  her  son;  " these  sentiments 
are  worthy  of  a  governor.  And  if  it  chance  that  any  of  the  maids 
should  break  her  neck;  the  cook  get  tipsy,  or  set  the  chimney  on 


THE  GOBLET. 


245 


fire;  the  butler,  for  joy,  let  all  the  malmsey  run  upon  the  floor,  or 
down  his  throat,  you  shall  not  hear  a  word  of  such  small  tricks. 
If,  indeed,  an  earthquake  were  to  overset  the  house  !  that,  my 
dear  mother,  could  not  be  kept  secret." 

"  When  will  he  leave  his  folly  !"  said  the  mother  :  "  What 
must  thy  sisters  think,  when  they  find  thee  every  jot  as  riotous 
as  when  they  left  thee  two  years  ago  ?" 

"  They  must  do  justice  to  my  force  of  character,"  said  Leo- 
pold, "  and  grant  that  I  am  not  so  changeable  as  they  or  their 
husbands,  who  have  altered  so  much  within  these  few  years,  and 
so  little  to  their  advantage." 

The  bridegroom  now  entered,  and  inquired  for  the  bride.  Her 
maid  was  sent  to  call  her.  "  Has  Leopold  made  my  request  to 
you,  my  dear  mother?"  said  he. 

"  I  did,  forsooth  !"  said  Leopold.  "  There  is  such  confusion 
here  among  us,  not  one  of  them  can  think  a  reasonable  thought." 

The  bride  entered,  and  the  young  pair  joyfully  saluted  one 
another.  "  The  request  I  meant,"  continued  the  bridegroom,  "  is 
this  :  That  you  would  not  take  it  ill,  if  I  should  bring  another 
guest  into  your  house,  which,  in  truth,  is  full  enough  already." 

"  You  are  aware  yourself,"  replied  the  mother,  "that  ex- 
tensive as  it  is,  I  could  scarcely  find  another  chamber." 

"  Notwithstanding,  I  have  partly  managed  it  already,"  cried 
Leopold  ;  "  I  have  had  the  large  apartment  furbished  up." 

"  Why,  that  is  quite  a  miserable  place,"  replied  the  mother; 
"  for  many  years  it  has  been  nothing  but  a  lumber-room." 

"But  it  is  splendidly  repaired,"  said  Leopold;  "and  our 
friend,  for  whom  it  is  intended,  does  not  mind  such  matters,  he 
desires  nothing  but  our  love.  Besides,  he  has  no  wife,  and  likes 
to  be  alone ;  it  is  the  very  place  for  him.  We  have  had  enough 
of  trouble  in  persuading  him  to  come,  and  show  himself  again 
among  his  fellow-creatures." 

"  Not  your  dismal  conjuror  and  gold-maker,  certainly?"  cried 
Agatha. 

"  No  other,"  said  the  bridegroom,  "  if  you  will  still  call 
him  so." 

"  Then  do  not  let  him,  mother,"  said  the  sister.  "  What 
should  a  man  like  that  do  here  ?  I  have  seen  him  on  the  street 
with  Leopold,  and  I  was  positively  frightened  at  his  face.  The 
old  sinner,  too,  almost  never  goes  to  church ;  he  loves  neither 
God  nor  man ;  and  it  cannot  come  to  good  to  bring  such  infidels 


216 


LTJDWIG  TIECK. 


under  the  roof,  on  a  solemnity  like  this.  Who  knows  what  may 
be  the  consequence  !" 

"  To  hear  her  talk  !"  said  Leopold,  in  anger.  "  Thou  con- 
demnest  without  knowing  him ;  and  because  the  cut  of  his  nose 
does  not  please  thee,  and  he  is  no  longer  young  and  handsome, 
thou  concludest  him  a  wizard,  and  a  servant  of  the t Devil." 

"  Grant  a  place  in  your  house,  dear  mother,"  said  the  bride- 
groom, "  to  our  old  friend,  and  let  him  take  a  part  in  our  general 
joy.  He  seems,  my  dear  Agatha,  to  have  endured  much  suffering, 
which  has  rendered  him  distrustful  and  misanthropic ;  he  avoids 
all  society,  his  only  exceptions  are  Leopold  and  myself.  I  owe 
him  much ;  it  was  he  that  first  gave  my  mind  a  good  direction ; 
nay,  I  may  say,  it  is  he  alone  that  has  rendered  me  perhaps 
worthy  of  my  Julia's  love." 

"  He  lends  me  all  his  books,"  continued  Leopold;  "and,  what 
is  more,  his  old  manuscripts ;  and  what  is  more  still,  his  money, 
on  my  bare  word.  He  is  a  man  of  the  most  christian  turn,  my 
little  sister.  And  who  knows,  when  thou  hast  seen  him  better, 
whether  thou  wilt  not  throw  off  thy  coyness,  and  take  a  fancy  to 
him,  ugly  as  he  now  appears  to  thee  ?" 

"  Well,  bring  him  to  us,"  said  the  mother;  "  I  have  had  to 
hear  so  much  of  him  from  Leopold  already,  that  I  have  a  curi- 
osity to  be  acquainted  with  him.  Only  you  must  answer  for  it, 
that  I  cannot  lodge  him  better." 

Meantime  strangers  were  announced.  They  were  members 
of  the  family,  the  married  daughters,  and  the  officer ;  they  had 
brought  their  children  with  them.  The  good  old  lady  was  de- 
lighted to  behold  her  grandsons ;  all  was  welcoming,  and  joyful 
talk ;  and  Leopold  and  the  bridegroom,  having  also  given  and  re- 
ceived their  greeting,  went  away  to  seek  their  ancient  melancholic 
friend. 

The  latter  lived  most  part  of  the  year  in  the  country,  about  a 
league  from  town ;  but  he  also  kept  a  little  dwelling  for  himself 
in  a  garden  near  the  gate.  Here,  by  chance,  the  young  men  had 
become  acquainted  with  him.  They  now  found  him  in  a  coffee- 
house, where  they  had  previously  agreed  to  meet.  As  the  evening 
had  come  on,  they  brought  him,  after  some  little  conversation, 
directly  to  the  house. 

The  stranger  met  a  kindly  welcome  from  the  mother ;  the 
daughters  stood  a  little  more  aloof  from  him.  Agatha  especially 
was  shy,  and  carefully  avoided  his  looks.    But  the  first  general 


THE  GOBLET. 


247 


compliments  were  scarcely  over,  when  the  old  man's  eye  appeared 
to  settle  on  the  bride,  who  had  entered  the  apartment  later ;  he 
seemed  as  if  transported,  and  it  was  observed  that  he  was  strug- 
gling to  conceal  a  tear.  The  bridegroom  rejoiced  in  his  joy,  and 
happening  sometime  after  to  be  standing  with  him  by  a  side  at 
the  window,  he  took  his  hand,  and  asked  him  :  "Now,  what  think 
you  of  my  lovely  Julia  ?    Is  she  not  an  angel?" 

"  0  my  friend  !"  replied  the  old  man,  with  emotion,  "  such 
grace  and  beauty  I  have  never  seen ;  or  rather,  I  should  say  (for 
that  expression  was  not  just),  she  is  so  fair,  so  ravishing,  so 
heavenly,  that  I  feel  as  if  I  had  long  known  her ;  as  if  she  were 
to  me,  utter  stranger  though  she  is,  the  most  familiar  form  of  my 
imagination,  some  shape  which  had  always  been  an  inmate  of  my 
heart." 

"I  understand  you,"  said  the  young  man  :  "  yes,  the  truly 
beautiful,  the  great  and  sublime,  when  it  overpowers  us  with  as- 
tonishment and  admiration,  still  does  not  surprise  us  as  a  thing 
foreign,  never  heard  of,  never  seen ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  our 
own  inmost  nature  in  such  moments  becomes  clear  to  us,  our 
deepest  remembrances  are  awakened,  our  dearest  feelings  made 
alive." 

The  stranger,  during  supper,  mixed  but  little  in  the  conver- 
sation ;  his  looks  were  fixed  on  the  bride,  so  earnestly  and  con- 
stantly, that  she  at  last  became  embarrassed  and  alarmed.  The 
captain  told  of  a  campaign  which  he  had  served  in ;  the  rich 
merchant  of  his  speculations  and  the  bad  times ;  the  country 
gentleman  of  the  improvements  which  he  meant  to  make  in  his 
estate. 

Supper  being  done,  the  bridegroom  took  his  leave,  returning 
for  the  last  time  to  his  lonely  chamber ;  for  in  future  it  was  set- 
tled that  the  married  pair  were  to  live  in  the  mother's  house, 
their  chambers  were  already  furnished.  The  company  dispersed, 
and  Leopold  conducted  the  stranger  to  his  room.  "You  will  ex- 
cuse us,"  said  he,  as  they  went  along,  "for  having  been  obliged 
to  lodge  you  rather  far  away,  and  not  so  comfortably  as  our  mother 
wished ;  but  you  see,  yourself,  how  numerous  our  family  is,  and 
more  relations  are  to  come  tomorrow.  For  one  thing,  you  will 
not  run  away  from  us  ;  there  is  no  finding  of  your  course  through 
this  enormous  house." 

They  went  through  several  passages,  and  Leopold  at  last  took 
leave,  and  bade  his  guest  good-night.    The  servant  placed  two 


248 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


wax-lights  on  the  table ;  then  asked  the  stranger  whether  he 
should  help  him  to  undress,  and  as  the  latter  waived  his  help  in 
that  particular,  he  also  went  away,  and  the  stranger  found  him- 
self alone. 

"How  does  it  chance,  then,"  said  he,  walking  up  and  down, 
' 1  that  this  Image  springs  so  vividly  from  my  heart  today  ?  I 
forgot  the  long  past,  and  thought  I  saw  herself.  I  was  again 
young,  and  her  voice  sounded  as  of  old ;  I  thought  I  was  awaken- 
ing from  a  heavy  dream ;  but  no,  I  am  now  awake,  and  those 
fair  moments  were  but  a  sweet  delusion." 

He  was  too  restless  to  sleep ;  he  looked  at  some  pictures  on 
the  walls,  and  then  round  on  the  chamber.  "  Today,"  cried  he, 
"  all  is  so  familiar  to  me,  I  could  almost  fancy  I  had  known  this 
house  and  this  apartment  of  old."  He  tried  to  settle  his  remem- 
brances, and  lifted  some  large  books  which  were  standing  in  a 
corner.  As  he  turned  their  leaves,  he  shook  his  head.  A  lute- 
case  was  leaning  on  the  wall ;  he  opened  it,  and  found  a  strange 
old  instrument,  time-worn,  and  without  the  strings.  "No,  I  am 
not  mistaken !"  cried  he,  in  astonishment;  "  this  lute  is  too  re- 
markable ;  it  is  the  Spanish  lute  of  my  long-departed  friend,  old 
Albert !  Here  are  his  magic  books ;  this  is  the  chamber  where 
he  raised  for  me  that  blissful  vision ;  the  red  of  the  tapestry  is 
faded,  its  golden  hem  is  become  dim ;  but  strangely  vivid  in  my 
heart  is  all  pertaining  to  those  hours.  It  was  for  this  the  fear 
went  over  me  as  I  was  coming  hither,  through  these  long  com- 
plicated passages  where  Leopold  conducted  me.  0  Heaven  !  On 
this  very  table  did  the  Shape  rise  budding  forth,  and  grow  up  as 
if  watered  and  refreshed  by  the  redness  of  the  gold.  The  same 
image  smiled  upon  me  here,  which  has  almost  driven  me  crazy 
in  the  hall  tonight ;  in  that  hall  where  I  have  walked  so  often  in 
trustful  speech  with  Albert !" 

He  undressed,  but  slept  very  little.  Early  in  the  morning  he 
was  up,  and  looking  at  the  room  again ;  he  opened  the  window, 
and  the  same  gardens  and  buildings  were  lying  before  him  as  of 
old,  only  many  other  houses  had  been  built  since  then.  "  Forty 
years  have  vanished,"  sighed  he,  "since  that  afternoon;  and 
every  day  of  those  bright  times  has  a  longer  life  than  all  the 
intervening  space." 

He  was  called  to  the  company.  The  morning  passed  in  varied 
talk :  at  last  the  bride  entered  in  her  marriage-dress.  As  the  old 
man  noticed  her,  he  fell  into  a  state  of  agitation,  such  that  every 


THE  GOBLET. 


249 


one  observed  it.  They  proceeded  to  the  church,  and  the  mar- 
riage-ceremony was  performed.  The  party  was  again  at  home, 
when  Leopold  inquired :  "Now,  mother,  how  do  you  like  our 
friend,  the  good  morose  old  gentleman?" 

"  I  had  figured  him,  by  your  description,"  said  she,  "  much 
more  frightful ;  he  is  mild  and  sympathetic,  and  might  gain  from 
one  an  honest  trust  in  him." 

"  Trust?"  cried  Agatha;  "in  these  burning  frightful  eyes, 
these  thousandfold  wrinkles,  that  pale  sunk  mouth,  that  strange 
laugh  of  his,  which  looks  and  sounds  so  mockingly  ?  No  ;  God 
keep  me  from  such  friends  !  If  evil  spirits  ever  take  the  shape 
of  men,  they  must  assume  some  shape  like  this." 

"Perhaps  a  younger  and  more  handsome  one,"  replied  the 
mother;  "  but  I  cannot  recognise  the  good  old  man  in  thy  de- 
scription. One  easily  observes  that  he  is  of  a  violent  tempera- 
ment, and  has  inured  himself  to  lock  up  his  feelings  in  his  own 
bosom ;  perhaps,  too,  as  Leopold  was  saying,  he  may  have  en- 
countered many  miseries ;  so  he  is  grown  mistrustful,  and  has 
lost  that  simple  openness,  which  is  especially  the  portion  of  the 
happy." 

The  rest  of  the  party  entered,  and  broke  off  their  conversa- 
tion. Dinner  was  served  up ;  and  the  stranger  sat  between 
Agatha  and  the  rich  merchant.  When  the  toasts  were  begin- 
ning, Leopold  cried  out :  "  Now,  stop  a  little,  worthy  friends ; 
we  must  have  the  golden  goblet  down  for  this,  then  let  it  travel 
round." 

He  was  rising,  but  his  mother  beckoned  him  to  keep  his  seat : 
"  Thou  wilt  not  find  it,"  said  she,  "  for  the  plate  is  all  stowed 
elsewhere."    She  walked  out  rapidly  to  seek  it  herself. 

"  How  brisk  and  busy  is  our  good  old  lady  still !"  observed 
the  merchant.  "  See  how  nimbly  she  can  move,  with  all  her 
breadth  and  weight,  and  reckoning  sixty  by  this  time  of  day. 
Her  face  is  always  bright  and  joyful,  and  today  she  is  particularly 
happy,  for  she  sees  herself  made  young  again  in  Julia." 

The  stranger  gave  assent,  and  the  lady  entered  with  the  gob- 
let. It  was  filled  with  vine,  and  began  to  circulate,  each  toast- 
ing what  was  dearest  and  most  precious  to  him.  Julia  gave  the 
welfare  of  her  husband,  he  the  love  of  his  fair  Julia ;  and  thus 
did  every  one  as  it  became  his  turn.  The  mother  lingered,  as 
the  goblet  came  to  her. 

"  Come,  quick  with  it,"  said  the  captain,  somewhat  hastily 


250 


LUDWIG  TTEOK. 


and  rudely;  "we  know,  you  reckon  all  men  faithless,  and  not  one 
among  them  worthy  of  a  woman's  love.  What,  then,  is  dearest 
to  you  ?" 

His  mother  looked  at  him,  while  the  mildness  of  her  brow 
was  on  a  sudden  overspread  with  angry  seriousness.  "  Since  my 
son,"  said  she,  "knows  me  so  well,  and  can  judge  my  mind  so 
rigorously,  let  me  be  permitted  not  to  speak  what  I  was  thinking 
of,  and  let  him  endeavour,  by  a  life  of  constant  love,  to  falsify 
what  he  gives  out  as  my  opinion."  She  pushed  the  goblet  on, 
without  drinking,  and  the  company  was  for  a  while  embarrassed 
and  disturbed. 

"  It  is  reported,"  said  the  merchant,  in  a  whisper,  turning  to 
the  stranger,  "that  she  did  not  love  her  husband;  but  another, 
who  proved  faithless  to  her.  She  was  then,  it  seems,  the  finest 
woman  in  the  city." 

When  the  cup  reached  Ferdinand,  he  gazed  upon  it  with 
astonishment ;  for  it  was  the  very  goblet  out  of  which  old  Albert 
had  called  forth  to  him  the  lovely  shadow.  He  looked  in  upon 
the  gold,  and  the  waving  of  the  wine ;  his  hand  shook ;  it  would 
not  have  surprised  him,  if  from  the  magic  bowl  that  glowing  Form 
had  again  mounted  up,  and  brought  with  it  his  vanished  youth. 
"  No  !"  said  he,  after  some  time,  half- aloud,  "  it  is  wine  that  is 
gleaming  here  !" 

"Ay,  what  else?"  cried  the  merchant,  laughing:  "Drink 
and  be  merry." 

A  thrill  of  terror  passed  over  the  old  man ;  he  pronounced 
the  name  "  Francesca"  in  a  vehement  tone,  and  set  the  goblet 
to  his  lips.  The  mother  cast  upon  him  an  inquiring  and  aston- 
ished look. 

"  Whence  is  this  bright  goblet  ?"  said  Ferdinand,  who  also 
felt  ashamed  of  his  embarrassment. 

"  Many  years  ago,  long  ere  I  was  born,"  said  Leopold,  "  my 
father  bought  it,  with  this  house  and  all  its  furniture,  from  an 
old  solitary  bachelor ;  a  silent  man,  whom  the  neighbours  thought 
a  dealer  in  the  Black  Art." 

The  stranger  did  not  say  that  he  had  known  this  old  man ; 
for  his  whole  being  was  too  much  perplexed,  too  like  an  enig- 
matic dream,  to  let  the  rest  look  into  it,  even  from  afar. 

The  cloth  being  withdrawn,  he  was  left  alone  with  the  mother, 
as  the  young  ones  had  retired  to  make  ready  for  the  ball.  "  Sit 
down  by  me,"  said  the  mother;  "  we  will  rest,  for  our  dancing 


THE  GOBLET. 


251 


years  are  past ;  and  if  it  is  not  rude,  allow  me  to  inquire  whether 
you  have  seen  our  goblet  elsewhere,  or  what  it  was  that  moved 
you  so  intensely  ?" 

"  0  my  lady,"  said  the  old  man,  "  pardon  my  foolish  violence 
and  emotion ;  but  ever  since  I  crossed  your  threshold,  I  feel  as 
if  I  were  no  longer  myself ;  every  moment  I  forget  that  my  head 
is  gray,  that  the  hearts  which  loved  me  are  dead.  Your  beauti- 
ful daughter,  who  is  now  celebrating  the  gladdest  day  of  her 
existence,  is  so  like  a  maiden  whom  I  knew  and  adored  in  my 
youth,  that  I  could  reckon  it  a  miracle.  Like,  did  I  say?  No, 
she  is  not  like ;  it  is  she  herself !  In  this  house,  too,  I  have 
often  been ;  and  once  I  became  acquainted  with  this  cup  in  a 
manner  I  shall  not  forget."  Here  he  told  her  his  adventure. 
"  On  the  evening  of  that  day,"  concluded  he,  "in  the  park,  I 
saw  my  loved  one  for  the  last  time,  as  she  was  passing  in  her 
coach.  A  rose  fell  from  her  bosom  ;  this  I  gathered ;  she  her- 
self was  lost  to  me,  for  she  proved  faithless,  and  soon  after 
married." 

"  God  in  Heaven  !"  cried  the  lady,  violently  moved,  and 
starting  up,  "  thou  art  not  Ferdinand  ?" 
"  It  is  my  name,"  replied  he. 
"  I  am  Francesca,"  said  the  lady. 

They  sprang  forward  to  embrace,  then  started  suddenly  back. 
Each  viewed  the  other  with  investigating  looks :  both  strove  again 
to  evolve  from  the  ruins  of  Time  those  lineaments  which  of  old 
they  had  known  and  loved  in  one  another  ;  and  as,  in  dark  tem- 
pestuous nights,  amid  the  flight  of  black  clouds,  there  are  mo- 
ments when  solitary  stars  ambiguously  twinkle  forth,  to  disappear 
next  instant,  so  to  these  two  was  there  shown  now  and  then  from 
the  eyes,  from  the  brow  and  lips,  the  transitory  gleam  of  some 
well-known  feature  ;  and  it  seemed  as  if  their  Youth  stood  in  the 
distance,  weeping  smiles.  He  bowed  down,  and  kissed  her  hand, 
while  two  big  drops  rolled  from  his  eyes.  They  then  embraced 
each  other  cordially. 

"  Is  thy  wife  dead  ?"  inquired  she. 

"  I  was  never  married,"  sobbed  the  other. 

"Heavens  !"  cried  she,  wringing  her  hands,  "then  it  is  I 
who  have  been  faithless  !  But  no,  not  faithless.  On  returning 
from  the  country,  where  I  stayed  two  mouths,  I  heard  from  every 
one,  thy  friends  as  well  as  mine,  that  thou  wert  long  ago  gone 
home,  and  married  in  thy  own  country.    They  showed  me  the 


252 


LUDWIG  TIECK. 


most  convincing  letters,  they  pressed  me  vehemently,  they  pro- 
fited by  my  despondency,  my  indignation  ;  and  so  it  was  that  I 
gave  my  hand  to  another,  a  deserving  husband  ;  but  my  heart 
and  my  thoughts  were  always  thine." 

"  I  never  left  this  town,"  said  Ferdinand ;  "  but  after  a  while 
I  heard  that  thou  wert  married.  They  wished  to  part  us,  and 
they  have  succeeded.  Thou  art  a  happy  mother  ;  I  live  in  the 
past,  and  all  thy  children  I  will  love  as  if  they  were  my  own.  But 
how  strange  that  we  should  never  once  have  met !" 

"  I  seldom  went  abroad,"  said  she  ;  "  and  as  my  husband 
took  another  name,  soon  after  we  were  married,  from  a  property 
which  he  inherited,  thou  couldst  have  no  suspicion  that  we  were 
so  near  together." 

"  I  avoided  men,"  said  Ferdinand,  "  and  lived  for  solitude. 
Leopold  is  almost  the  only  one  that  has  attracted  me,  and  led 
me  out  amongst  my  fellows.  0  my  beloved  friend,  it  is  like  a 
frightful  spectre-story,  to  think  how  we  lost,  and  have  again  found 
each  other  !" 

As  the  young  people  entered,  the  two  were  dissolved  in  tears, 
and  in  the  deepest  emotion.  Neither  of  them  told  what  had  oc- 
curred, the  secret  seemed  too  holy.  But  ever  after,  the  old  man 
was  the  friend  of  the  house  ;  and  Death  alone  parted  these  two 
beings,  who  had  found  each  other  so  strangely,  to  reunite  them 
in  a  short  time,  beyond  the  power  of  separation. 


JEAN  PAUL  FBIEDRICH  EICHTER. 


ARMY-CHAPLAIN  SCHMELZLE'S  JOURNEY 
TO  FL.ETZ; 

WITH 

A  RUNNING  COMMENTARY  OF  NOTES  BY  JEAN  PAUL.* 


PREFACE. 

This,  I  conceive,  may  be  managed  in  two  words. 

The  first  word  must  relate  to  the  Circular  Letter  of  Army-chaplain  Schmelzle, 
wherein  he  describes  to  his  friends  his  Journey  to  the  metropolitan  city  of  Fliitz ; 
after  having,  in  an  Introduction,  premised  some  proofs  and  assurances  of  his  va- 
lour. Properly  speaking,  the  Journey  itself  has  been  written  purely  with  a  view 
that  his  courageousness,  impugned  by  rumour,  may  be  fully  evinced  and  demon- 
strated by  the  plain  facts  which  he  therein  records.  Whether,  in  the  mean  time, 
there  shall  not  be  found  certain  quick- scented  readers,  who  may  infer,  directly 
contrariwise,  that  his  breast  is  not  everywhere  bomb-proof,  especially  in  the  left 
Bide  :  on  this  point  I  keep  my  judgment  suspended. 

For  the  rest,  I  beg  the  judges  of  literature,  as  well  as  their  satellites,  the 
critics  of  literature,  to  regard  this  Journey,  for  whose  literary  contents  I,  as 
Editor,  am  answerable,  solely  in  the  light  of  a  Portrait  (in  the  French  sense),  a 
little  Sketch  of  Character.  It  is  a  voluntary  or  involuntary  comedy-piece,  at 
which  I  have  laughed  so  often,  that  I  purpose  in  time  coming  to  paint  some  simi- 
lar Pictures  of  Character  myself.  And,  for  the  present,  when  could  such  a  little 
comic  toy  be  more  fitly  imparted  and  set  forth  to  the  world,  than  in  these  very 
days,  when  the  sound  both  of  heavy  money  and  of  light  laughter  has  died  away 
from  among  us ;  when,  like  the  Turks,  we  count  and  pay  merely  with  sealed 
purses,  and  the  coin  within  them  has  vanished? 

Despicable  would  it  seem  to  me,  if  any  clownish  squire  of  the  goose-quill 
should  publicly  and  censoriously  demand  of  me,  in  what  way  this  self-cabinet- 
piece  of  Schmelzle's  has  come  into  my  hands  ?  I  know  it  well,  and  do  not  dis- 
close it.  This  comedy-piece,  for  which  I,  at  all  events,  as  my  Bookseller  will 
testify,  draw  the  profit  myself,  I  got  hold  of  so  unblamably,  that  I  await,  with 
unspeakable  composure,  what  the  Army-chaplain  shall  please  to  say  against  the 
publication  of  it,  in  case  he  say  anything  at  all.  My  conscience  bears  me  wit- 
ness, that  I  acquired  this  article,  at  least  by  more  honourable  methods  than  are 
those  of  the  learned  persons  who  steal  with  their  ears,  who,  in  the  character  of 
spiritual  auditory-thieves,  and  classroom  cutpurses  and  pirates,  are  in  the  habit 
of  disloading  their  plundered  Lectures,  and  vending  them  up  and  down  the  coun- 
try as  productions  of  their  own.  Hitherto,  in  my  whole  life,  I  have  stolen  little, 
except  now  and  then  in  youth  some — glances. 

The  second  word  must  explain  or  apologise  for  the  singular  form  of  this  little 

1  Prefatory  Introduction  to  Richter,  supra,  at  p.  354,  Vol.  VI.  of  Works  (Vol. 
I.  of  Miscellanies). 


256 


JEAN  PAUL  FEIEDBICH  EICHTER. 


Work,  standing  as  it  does  on  a  substratum  of  Notes.  I  myself  am  not  contented 
with  it.  Let  the  World  open,  and  look,  and  determine,  in  like  manner.  But  the 
truth  is,  this  line  of  demarcation,  stretching  through  the  whole  hook,  originated 
in  the  following  accident :  certain  thoughts  (or  digressions)  of  my  own,  with 
which  it  was  not  permitted  me  to  disturb  those  of  the  Army-chaplain,  and  which 
could  only  he  allowed  to  fight  behind  the  lines,  in  the  shape  of  Notes,  I,  with  a 
view  to  conveniency  and  order,  had  written  down  in  a  separate  paper ;  at  the 
same  time,  as  will  he  observed,  regularly  providing  every  Note  with  its  Number, 
and  thus  referring  it  to  the  proper  page  of  the  main  Manuscript.  But,  in  the 
copying  of  the  latter,  I  had  forgotten  to  insert  the  corresponding  numbers  in  the 
Text  itself.  Therefore,  let  no  man,  any  more  than  I  do,  cast  a  stone  at  my 
worthy  Printer,  inasmuch  as  he  (perhaps  in  the  thought  that  it  was  my  way,  that 
I  had  some  purpose  in  it)  took  these  Notes,  just  as  they  stood,  pell-mell,  without 
arrangement  of  Numbers,  and  clapped  them  under  the  Text ;  at  the  same  time, 
by  a  praiseworthy  artful  computation,  taking  care  at  least,  that,  at  the  bottom 
of  every  page  in  the  Text,  there  should  some  portion  of  this  glittering  Note-pre- 
cipitate make  its  appearance.  Well,  the  thing  at  any  rate  is  done,  nay  per- 
petuated, namely  printed.  After  all,  I  might  almost  partly  rejoice  at  it.  For, 
in  good  truth,  had  I  meditated  for  years  (as  I  have  done  for  the  last  twenty) 
how  to  provide  for  my  digression-comets  new  orbits,  if  not  focal  suns,  for  my 
episodes  new  epopees, — I  could  scarce  possibly  have  hit  upon  a  better  or  more 
spacious  Limbo  for  such  Vanities  than  Chance  and  Printer  here  accidentally  offer 
me  ready-made.  I  have  only  to  regret,  that  the  thing  has  been  printed,  before 
I  could  turn  it  to  account.  Heavens  !  what  remotest  allusions  (had  I  known  it 
before  printing)  might  not  have  been  privily  introduced  in  every  Text-page  and 
Note-number ;  and  what  apparent  incongruity  in  the  real  congruity  between  this 
upper  and  under  side  of  the  cards  !  How  vehemently  and  devilishly  might  one 
not  have  cut  aloft,  and  to  the  right  and  left,  from  these  impregnable  casemates 
and  covered  ways  ;  and  what  lasio  ultra  dimidium  (injury  beyond  the  half  of  the 
Text)  might  not,  with  these  satirical  injuries,  have  been  effected  and  completed ! 

But  Fate  meant  not  so  kindly  with  me  :  of  this  golden  harvest-field  of  satire 
I  was  not  to  be  informed  till  three  days  before  the  Preface. 

Perhaps,  however,  the  writing  world,  by  the  little  blue  flame  of  this  accident, 
may  be  guided  to  a  weightier  acquisition,  to  a  larger  subterranean  treasure,  than 
I,  alas,  have  dug  up  !  For,  to  the  writer,  there  is  now  a  way  pointed  out  of  pro- 
ducing in  one  marbled  volume  a  group  of  altogether  different  works  ;  of  writing 
in  one  leaf,  for  both  sexes  at  the  same  time,  without  confounding  them,  nay,  for 
the  five  faculties  all  at  once,  without  disturbing  their  limitations  ;  since  now, 
instead  of  boiling  up  a  vile  fermenting  shove-together,  fit  for  nobody,  he  has 
nothing  to  do  but  draw  his  note-lines  or  partition-lines  ;  and  so  on  his  five- 
story  leaf  give  board  and  lodging  to  the  most  discordant  heads.  Perhaps  one 
might  then  read  many  a  book  for  the  fourth  time,  simply  because  every  time  one 
had  read  but  a  fourth  part  of  it. 

On  the  whole,  this  Work  has  at  least  the  property  of  being  a  short  one ;  so 
that  the  reader,  I  hope,  may  almost  run  through  it,  and  read  it  at  the  book- 
seller's counter,  without,  as  in  the  case  of  thicker  volumes,  first  needing  to  buy 
it.  And  why,  indeed,  in  this  world  of  Matter  should  anything  whatever  be  great, 
except  only  what  belongs  not  to  it,  the  world  of  Spirit  ? 

Jean  Paul  Fb.  Richteb. 

Bayreuth,  in  the  Hay  and  Peace  Month,  1807. 


257 


SCHMELZLE'S  JOUENEY  TO  FLMTZ. 

Circular  Letter  of  the  proposed  Catechetical  Professor  Attila  Schmelzle  to  his 
Friends;  containing  some  Account  of  a  Holidays1  Journey  to  Fldtz,  with  an 
Introduction,  touching  his  Flight,  and  his  Courage  as  former  Army -chaplain. 

Nothing  can  be  more  ludicrous,  my  esteemed  Friends,  than  to 
hear  people  stigmatising  a  man  as  cowardly  and  hare-hearted, 
who  perhaps  is  struggling  all  the  while  with  precisely  the  oppo- 
site faults,  those  of  a  lion  ;  though  indeed  the  African  lion  him- 
self, since  the  time  of  Sparrmann's  Travels,  passes  among  us  for 
a  poltroon.  Yet  this  case  is  mine,  worthy  Friends  ;  and  I  pur- 
pose to  say  a  few  words  thereupon,  before  describing  my  Journey. 

You  in  truth  are  all  aware  that,  directly  in  the  teeth  of  this 
calumny,  it  is  courage,  it  is  desperadoes  (provided  they  be  not 
braggarts  and  tumultuous  persons),  whom  I  chiefly  venerate ;  for 
example,  my  brother-in-law,  the  Dragoon,  who  never  in  his  life 
bastinadoed  one  man,  but  always  a  whole  social  circle  at  the  same 
time.  How  truculent  was  my  fancy,  even  in  childhood,  wThen  I,  as 
the  parson  was  toning  away  to  the  silent  congregation,  used  to 
take  it  into  my  head  :  "  How  now,  if  thou  shouldst  start  up  from 
the  pew,  and  shout  aloud  :  I  am  here  too,  Mr.  Parson !"  and  to 
paint  out  this  thought  in  such  glowing  colours,  that  for  very  dread, 
I  have  often  been  obliged  to  leave  the  church  !  Anything  like 
Eugenda's  battle-pieces ;  horrid  murder-tumults,  sea-fights  or 
Stormings  of  Toulon,  exploding  fleets ;  and,  in  my  childhood, 
Battles  of  Prague  on  the  harpsichord ;  nay,  in  short,  every  map 
of  any  remarkable  scene  of  war  :  these  are  perhaps  too  much  my 
favourite  objects;  and  I  read — and  purchase  nothing  sooner;  and 
doubtless,  they  might  lead  me  into  many  errors,  were  it  not  that 
my  circumstances  restrain  me.  Now,  if  it  be  objected  that  true 
courage  is  something  higher  than  mere  thinking  and  willing,  then 


103.  Good  princes  easily  obtain  good  subjects ;  not  so  easily  good  subjects 
good  princes  :  thus  Adam,  in  the  state  of  innocence,  ruled  over  animals  all  tame 
and  gentle,  till  simply  through  his  means  they  fell  and  grew  savage. 

5.  For  a  good  Physician  saves,  if  not  always  from  the  disease,  at  least  from 
a  bad  Physician. 

VOL.  Ill,  S 


258 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  KICHTEK. 


you,  my  worthy  Friends,  will  fte  the  first  to  recognise  mine,  when 
it  shall  break  forth  into,  not  barren  and  empty,  but  active  and 
effective  words,  while  I  strengthen  my  future  Catechetical  Pupils, 
as  well  as  can  be  done  in  a  course  of  College  Lectures,  and  steel 
t)iem  into  Christian  heroes. 

It  is  well  known  that,  out  of  care  for  the  preservation  of  my 
life,  I  never  walk  within  at  least  ten  fields  of  any  shore  full  of 
bathers  or  swimmers ;  merely  because  I  foresee  to  a  certainty,  that 
m  case  one  of  them  were  drowning,  I  should  that  moment  (for  the 
heart  overbalances  the  head)  plunge  after  the  fool  to  save  him, 
into  some  bottomless  depth  or  other,  where  we  should  both  perish. 
And  if  dreaming  is  the  reflex  of  waking,  let  me  ask  you,  true 
Hearts,  if  you  have  forgotten  my  relating  to  you  dreams  of  mine, 
which  no  Caesar,  no  Alexander  or  Luther,  need  have  felt  ashamed 
of?  Have  I  not,  to  mention  a  few  instances,  taken  Home  by  storm ; 
and  done  battle  with  the  Pope,  and  the  whole  elephantine  body 
of  the  Cardinal  College,  at  one  and  the  same  time  ?  Did  I  not 
once  on  horseback,  while  simply  looking  at  a  review  of  military, 
dash  headlong  into  a  bataillon  quarre;  and  then  capture,  in  Aix- 
la-Chapelle,  the  Peruke  of  Charlemagne,  for  which  the  town  pays 
yearly  ten  reichsthalers  of  barber-money ;  and  carrying  it  off  to 
Halberstadt  and  Herr  Gleim's,  there  in  like  manner  seize  the  Great 
Frederick's  Hat;  put  both  Peruke  and  Hat  on  my  head,  and  yet 
return  home,  after  I  had  stormed  their  batteries,  and  turned  the 
cannon  against  the  cannoneers  themselves  ?  Did  I  not  once  sub- 
mit to  be  made  a  Jew  of,  and  then  be  regaled  with  hams;  though 
they  were  ape-hams  on  the  Orinocco  (see  Humboldt)  ?  And  a 
thousand  such  things ;  for  I  have  thrown  the  Consistorial  Pre- 
sident of  Flatz  out  of  the  Palace  window  ;  those  alarm-fulmina- 
tors,  sold  by  Heinrich  Backofen  in  Gotha,  at  six  groschen  the 
dozen,  and  each  going  off  like  a  cannon,  I  have  listened  to  so 
calmly  that  the  fulminators  did  not  even  awaken  me ;  and  more 
of  the  like  sort. 

But  enough !  It  is  now  time  briefly  to  touch  that  farther 
slander  of  my  chaplainship,  which  unhappily  has  likewise  gained 
some  circulation  in  Flatz,  but  which,  as  Caesar  did  Alexander,  I 
shall  now  by  my  touch  dissipate  into  dust.    Be  what  truth  in  it 


100.  In  books  lie  the  Phcenix-ashes  of  a  past  Millennium  and  Paradise ;  but 
War  blows,  and  much  ashes  are  scattered  away. 

102.  Dear  Political  or  Religious  Inquisitor  !  art  thou  aware  that  Turin  tapers 
never  rightly  begin  shining,  till  thou  breakest  them,  and  then  they  take  fire  ? 


SCHMELZLE'S  JOURNEY  TO  FLiETZ. 


259 


fchere  can,  it  is  still  little  or  nothing.  Your  great  Minister  and 
General  in  Flatz  (perhaps  the  very  greatest  in  the  world,  for  there 
are  not  many  Schabackers)  may  indeed,  like  any  other  great  man, 
be  turned  against  me,  but  not  with  the  Artillery  of  Truth ;  for 
this  Artillery  I  here  set  before  you,  my  good  Hearts,  and  do  you 
but  fire  it  off  for  my  advantage  !  The  matter  is  this  :  Certain 
foolish  rumours  are  afloat  in  the  Flatz  country,  that  I,  on  occa- 
sion of  some  important  battles,  took  leg-bail  (such  is  their  plebeian 
phrase),  and  that  afterwards,  on  the  chaplain's  being  called-for  to 
preach  a  Thanksgiving  sermon  for  the  victory,  no  chaplain  what- 
ever was  to  be  found.  The  ridiculousness  of  this  story  will  best 
appear,  when  I  tell  you  that  I  never  was  in  any  action ;  but  have 
always  been  accustomed,  several  hours  prior  to  such  an  event,  to 
withdraw  so  many  miles  to  the  rear,  that  our  men,  so  soon  as  they 
were  beaten,  would  be  sure  to  find  me.  A  good  retreat  is  reckoned 
the  masterpiece  in  the  art  of  war ;  and  at  no  time  can  a  retreat  be 
executed  with  such  order,  force  and  security,  as  just  before  the 
battle,  when  you  are  not  yet  beaten. 

It  is  true,  I  might  perhaps,  as  expectant  Professor  of  Cate- 
chetics,  sit  still  and  smile  at  such  nugatory  speculations  on  my 
courage  ;  for  if  by  Socratic  questioning  I  can  hammer  my  future 
Catechist  Pupils  into  the  habit  of  asking  questions  in  their  turn, 
I  shall  thereby  have  tempered  them  into  heroes,  seeing  they  have 
nothing  to  fight  with  but  children — (Catechists  at  all  events, 
though  dreading  fire,  have  no  reason  to  dread  light,  since  in  our 
days,  as  in  London  illuminations,  it  is  only  the  unlighted  windows 
that  are  battered  in  ;  whereas,  in  other  ages,  it  was  with  nations 
and  light,  as  it  is  with  dogs  and  water ;  if  you  give  them  none  for 
a  long  time,  they  at  last  get  a  horror  at  it) ; — and  on  the  whole, 
for  Catechists,  any  park  looks  kindlier,  and  smiles  more  sweetly, 
than  a  sulphurous  park  of  artillery  ;  and  the  Warlike  Foot,  which 
the  age  is  placed  on,  is  to  them  the  true  Devil's  cloven-foot  of 
human  nature. 

But  for  my  part  I  think  not  so  :  almost  as  if  the  party-spirit 
influence  of  my  christian  name,  Attila,  had  passed  into  me  more 
strongly  than  was  proper,  I  feel  myself  impelled  still  farther  to 
prove  my  courageousness  ;  which,  dearest  Friends  !  I  shall  here 

86.  Very  true !  In  youth  we  love  and  enjoy  the  most  ill-assorted  friends, 
perhaps  more  than,  in  old  age,  the  best-assorted. 

128.  In  Love  there  are  Summer  Holidays ;  but  in  Marriage  also  there  are 
Winter  Holidays,  I  hope. 


260 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTEIt. 


in  a  few  lines  again  do.  This  proof  I  conld  manage  by  mere  in- 
ferences and  learned  citations.  For  example,  if  Galen  remarks 
that  animals  with  large  hind- quarters  are  timid,  I  have  nothing 
to  do  but  turn  round,  and  show  the  enemy  my  back,  and  what  is 
under  it,  in  order  to  convince  him  that  I  am  not  deficient  in 
valour,  but  in  flesh.  Again,  if  by  well-known  experiences  it  has 
been  found  that  flesh-eating  produces  courage,  I  can  evince,  that 
in  this  particular  I  yield  to  no  officer  of  the  service  ;  though  it  is 
the  habit  of  these  gentlemen  not  only  to  run  up  long  scores  of 
roast-meat  with  their  landlords,  but  also  to  leave  them  unpaid, 
that  so  at  every  hour  they  may  have  an  open  document  in  the 
hands  of  the  enemy  himself  (the  landlord),  testifying  that  they 
have  eaten  their  own  share  (with  some  of  other  people's  too),  and 
so  put  common  butcher's-meat  on  a  War-footing,  living  not  like 
others  by  bravery,  but  for  bravery.  As  little  have  I  ever,  in  my 
character  of  chaplain,  shrunk  from  comparison  with  any  officer  in 
the  regiment,  who  may  be  a  true  lion,  and  so  snatch  every  sort 
of  plunder,  but  yet,  like  this  King  of  the  Beasts,  is  afraid  of  fire; 
or  who, — like  King  James  of  England,  that  scampered  off  at  sight 
of  drawn  swords,  yet  so  much  the  more  gallantly,  before  all 
Europe,  went  out  against  the  storming  Luther  with  book  and 
pen,2 — does,  from  a  similar  idiosyncrasy,  attack  all  warlike  arma- 
ments, both  by  word  and  writing.  And  here  I  recollect  with  satis- 
faction a  brave  sub -lieutenant,  whose  confessor  I  was  (he  still  owes 
me  the  confession-money),  and  who,  in  respect  of  stouthearted- 
ness, had  in  him  perhaps  something  of  that  Indian  dog  which 
Alexander  had  presented  to  him,  as  a  sort  of  Dog-Alexander. 
By  way  of  trying  this  crack  dog,  the  Macedonian  made  various 
heroic  or  heraldic  beasts  be  let  loose  against  him  :  first  a  stag ; 
but  the  dog  lay  still :  then  a  sow ;  he  lay  still :  then  a  bear ;  he 
lay  still.  Alexander  was  on  the  point  of  condemning  him ;  when 
a  lion  was  let  forth  :  the  dog  rose,  and  tore  the  lion  in  pieces. 
So  likewise  the  sub -lieutenant.  A  challenger,  a  foreign  enemy, 
a  Frenchman,  are  to  him  only  stag,  and  sow,  and  bear,  and  he 


143.  Women  have  weekly  at  least  one  active  and  passive  day  of  glory,  the 
holy  day,  the  Sunday.  The  higher  ranks  alone  have  more  Sundays  than  work- 
days ;  as  in  great  towns,  you  can  celehrate  your  Sunday  on  Friday  -with  the 
Turks,  on  Saturday  with  the  Jews,  and  on  Sunday  with  yourself. 


2  The  good  Professor  of  Catechetics  is  out  here.  Indignor  quandoque  lonus 
dormitat  Sclimelzlceus  ! — Ed. 


schmblzle's  journey  to  fl^tz. 


261 


lies  still  in  his  place  ;  but  let  his  oldest  enemy,  his  creditor,  come 
and  knock  at  his  gate,  and  demand  of  him  actual  smart-money  for 
long  bygone  pleasures,  thus  presuming  to  rob  him  both  of  past 
and  present ;  the  sub-lieutenant  rises,  and  throws  his  creditor 
down  stairs.  I,  alas,  am  still  standing  by  the  sow ;  and  thus, 
naturally  enough,  misunderstood. 

Quo,  says  Livy,  xii.  5,  and  with  great  justice,  quo  timoris 
minus  est,  eo  minus  ferine  periculi  est,  The  less  fear  you  have, 
the  less  danger  you  are  likely  to  be  in.  With  equal  justice  I 
invert  the  maxim,  and  say :  The  less  the  danger,  the  smaller  the 
fear ;  nay,  there  may  be  situations,  in  which  one  has  absolutely  no 
knowledge  of  fear ;  and,  among  these,  mine  is  to  be  reckoned. 
The  more  hateful,  therefore,  must  that  calumny  about  hare-heart- 
edness  appear  to  me. 

To  my  Holidays'  Journey  I  shall  prefix  a  few  facts,  which 
prove  how  easily  foresight — that  is  to  say,  when  a  person  would 
not  resemble  the  stupid  marmot,  that  will  even  attack  a  man  on 
horseback — may  pass  for  cowardice.  For  the  rest,  I  wish  only 
that  I  could  with  equal  ease  wipe  away  a  quite  different  reproach, 
that  of  being  a  foolhardy  desperado  ;  though  I  trust,  in  the  sequel, 
I  shall  be  able  to  advance  some  facts  which  invalidate  it. 

What  boots  the  heroic  arm,  without  a  hero's  eye  ?  The  former 
readily  grows  stronger  and  more  nervous  ;  but  the  latter  is  not  so 
soon  ground  sharper,  like  glasses.  Nevertheless,  the  merits  of 
foresight  obtain  from  the  mass  of  men  less  admiration  (nay,  I 
should  say,  more  ridicule)  than  those  of  courage.  Whoso,  for 
instance,  shall  see  me  walking  under  quite  cloudless  skies,  with 
a  wax-cloth  umbrella  over  me,  to  him  I  shall  probably  appear 
ridiculous,  so  long  as  he  is  not  aware  that  I  carry  this  umbrella 
as  a  thunder- screen,  to  keep  off  any  bolt  out  of  the  blue  heaven 
(whereof  there  are  several  examples  in  the  history  of  the  Middle 
Ages)  from  striking  me  to  death.  My  thunder-screen,  in  fact,  is 
exactly  that  of  Keimarus  :  on  a  long  walking-stick,  I  carry  the 
wax-cloth  roof ;  from  the  peak  of  which  depends  a  string  of  gold- 
lace  as  a  conductor ;  and  this,  by  means  of  a  key  fastened  to  it, 
which  it  trails  along  the  ground,  will  lead  off  every  possible  bolt, 
and  easily  distribute  it  over  the  whole  superficies  of  the  Earth. 


21.  Schiller  and  Klopstock  are  Poetic  Mirrors  held  up  to  the  Sun-god:  the 
Mirrors  reflect  the  Sun  with  such  dazzling  brightness,  that  you  cannot  find  the 
Picture  of  the  World  imaged  forth  in  them. 


262 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


With  this  Paratonnerre  Portatif  in  my  hand,  I  can  walk  about 
for  weeks,  under  the  clear  sky,  without  the  smallest  danger.  This 
Diving-bell,  moreover,  protects  me  against  something  else; 
against  shot.  For  who,  in  the  latter  end  of  Harvest,  will  give 
me  black  on  white  that  no  lurking  ninny  of  a  sportsman  some- 
where, when  I  am  out  enjoying  Nature,  shall  so  fire  off  his  piece, 
at  an  angle  of  45°,  that  in  falling  down  again,  the  shot  needs  only 
light  directly  on  my  crown,  and  so  come  to  the  same  as  if  I  had 
been  shot  through  the  brain  from  a  side  ? 

It  is  bad  enough,  at  any  rate,  that  we  have  nothing  to  guard 
us  from  the  Moon ;  which  at  present  is  bombarding  us  with  stones 
like  a  very  Turk :  for  this  paltry  little  Earth's  trainbearer  and 
errand-maid  thinks,  in  these  rebellious  times,  that  she  too  must 
begin,  forsooth,  to  sling  somewhat  against  her  Mother  !  In  good 
truth,  as  matters  stand,  any  young  Catechist  of  feeling  may  go 
out  o'  nights,  with  whole  limbs,  into  the  moonshine,  a-meditating; 
and  ere  long  (in  the  midst  of  his  meditation  the  villanous  Satel- 
lite hits  him)  come  home  a  pounded  jelly.  By  heaven !  new 
proofs  of  courage  are  required  of  us  on  every  hand !  No  sooner 
have  we,  with  great  effort,  got  thunder-rods  manufactured,  and 
comet-tails  explained  away,  than  the  enemy  opens  new  batteries 
in  the  Moon,  or  somewhere  else  in  the  Blue ! 

Suffice  one  other  story  to  manifest  how  ludicrous  the  most 
serious  foresight,  with  all  imaginable  inward  courage,  often  ex- 
ternally appears  in  the  eyes  of  the  many.  Equestrians  are  well 
acquainted  with  the  dangers  of  a  horse  that  runs  away.  My  evil 
star  would  have  it,  that  I  should  once  in  Vienna  get  upon  a  hack- 
horse  ;  a  pretty  enough  honey-coloured  nag,  but  old  and  hard- 
mouthed  as  Satan ;  so  that  the  beast,  in  the  next  street,  went 
off  with  me ;  and  this  in  truth — only  at  a  walk.  No  pulling, 
no  tugging,  took  effect ;  I,  at  last,  on  the  back  of  this  Self-riding- 
horse,  made  signals  of  distress,  and  cried :  "  Stop  him,  good 
people,  for  God's  sake  stop  him,  my  horse  is  off!"  But  these 
simple  persons  seeing  the  beast  move  along  as  slowly  as  a  Keichs- 
hofrath  law-suit,  or  the  Daily  Postwagen,  could  not  in  the  least 
understand  the  matter,  till  I  cried  as  if  possessed  :  "  Stop  him 


34.  Women  are  like  precious  carved  works  of  ivory ;  nothing  is  whiter  and 
smoother,  and  nothing  sooner  grows  yellow. 

72.  The  Half-learned  is  adored  by  the  Quarter-learned;  the  latter  by  the 
Sixteenth-part-learned ;  and  so  on ;  but  not  the  Whole-learned  by  the  Half- 
learned. 


SCHMELZLE'S  JOURNEY  TO  FLiETZ. 


263 


then,  ye  blockheads  and  joltheads ;  don't  you  see  that  I  cannot 
hold  the  nag  ?"  But  now,  to  these  noodles,  the  sight  of  a  hard- 
mouthed  horse  going  off  with  its  rider  step  by  step,  seemed  ridi- 
culous rather  than  otherwise  ;  half  Vienna  gathered  itself  like  a 
comet-tail  behind  my  beast  and  me.  Prince  Kaunitz,  the  best 
horseman  of  the  century  (the  last),  pulled  up  to  follow  me.  I 
myself  sat  and  swam  like  a  perpendicular  piece  of  drift-ice  on  my 
honey-coloured  nag,  which  stalked  on,  on,  step  by  step  :  a  many- 
cornered,  red-coated  letter-carrier,  was  delivering  his  letters,  to 
the  right  and  left,  in  the  various  stories,  and  he  still  crossed  over 
before  me  again,  with  satirical  features,  because  the  nag  went 
along  too  slowly.  The  Schwanzschleuderer,  or  Train-dasher  (the 
person,  as  you  know,  who  drives  along  the  streets  with  a  huge 
barrel  of  water,  and  besplashes  them  with  a  leathern  pipe  of  three 
ells  long  from  an  iron  trough),  came  across  the  haunches  of  my 
horse,  and,  in  the  course  of  his  duty,  wetted  both  these  and  my- 
self in  a  very  cooling  manner,  though,  for  my  part,  I  had  too  much 
cold  sweat  on  me  already,  to  need  any  fresh  refrigeration.  On 
my  infernal  Trojan  Horse  (only  I  myself  was  Troy,  not  beridden 
but  riding  to  destruction),  I  arrived  at  Malzlein  (a  suburb  of 
Vienna),  or  perhaps,  so  confused  were  my  senses,  it  might  be 
quite  another  range  of  streets.  At  last,  late  in  the  dusk,  I  had 
to  turn  into  the  Prater ;  and  here,  long  after  the  Evening  Gun,  to 
my  horror,  and  quite  against  the  police-rules,  keep  riding  to  and 
fro  on  my  honey-coloured  nag ;  and  possibly  I  might  even  have 
passed  the  night  on  him,  had  not  my  brother-in-law,  the  Dragoon, 
observed  my  plight,  and  so  found  me  still  sitting  firm  as  a  rock 
on  my  runaway  steed.  He  made  no  ceremonies ;  caught  the 
brute ;  and  put  the  pleasant  question  :  Why  I  had  not  vaulted, 
and  come  off  by  ground- and-lofty  tumbling  ?  though  he  knew  full 
well,  that  for  this  a  wooden-horse,  which  stands  still,  is  requisite. 
However,  he  took  me  down;  and  so,  after  all  this  riding,  horse 
and  man  got  home  with  whole  skins  and  unbroken  bones. 
But  now  at  last  to  my  Journey  ! 

Journey  to  Flatz. 

You  are  aware,  my  friends,  that  this  Journey  to  Flatz  was 
necessarily  to  take  place  in  Vacation  time ;  not  only  because  the 

35.  Bien  ecouter  c'est  presque  repondre,  says  Marivaux  justly  of  social  cir- 
cles :  but  I  extend  it  to  round  Councillor-tables  and  Cabinet-tables,  where  reports 
are  made,  and  the  Prince  listens. 


264 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


Cattle  -  market,  and  consequently  the  Minister  and  General  von 
Sclia backer,  was  there  then ;  but  more  especially,  because  the 
latter  (as  I  had  it  positively  from  a  private  hand)  did  annually,  on 
the  23d  of  July,  the  market-eve,  about  five  o'clock,  become  so  full 
of  gaudium  and  graciousness,  that  in  many  cases  he  did  not  so 
much  snarl  on  people,  as  listen  to  them,  and  grant  their  prayers. 
The  cause  of  this  gaudium  I  had  rather  not  trust  to  paper.  In 
short,  my  Petition,  praying  that  he  would  be  pleased  to  indemnify 
and  reward  me,  as  an  unjustly  deposed  Army- chaplain,  by  a  Cate- 
chetical Professorship,  could  plainly  be  presented  to  him  at  no 
better  season,  than  exactly  about  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the 
first  dog-day.  In  less  than  a  week,  I  had  finished  writing  my 
Petition.  As  I  spared  neither  summaries  nor  copies  of  it,  I  had 
soon  got  so  far  as  to  see  the  relatively  best  lying  completed  before 
me ;  when,  to  my  terror,  I  observed,  that,  in  this  paper,  I  had 
introduced  above  thirty  dashes,  or  breaks,  in  the  middle  of  my 
sentences  !  Nowadays,  alas,  these  stings  shoot  forth  involuntarily 
from  learned  pens,  as  from  the  tails  of  wasps.  I  debated  long 
within  myself  whether  a  private  scholar  could  justly  be  entitled 
to  approach  a  minister  with  dashes, — greatly  as  this  level  inter- 
lineation of  thoughts,  these  horizontal  note -marks  of  poetical 
music-pieces,  and  these  rope-ladders  or  Achilles'  tendons  of  phi- 
losophical see -pieces,  are  at  present  fashionable  and  indispens- 
able :  but,  at  last,  I  was  obliged  (as  erasures  may  offend  people  of 
quality)  to  write  my  best  proof-petition  over  again ;  and  then  to 
afflict  myself  for  another  quarter  of  an  hour  over  the  name  Attila 
Schmelzle,  seeing  it  is  always  my  principle  that  this  and  the 
address  of  the  letter,  the  two  cardinal  points  of  the  whole,  can 
never  be  written  legibly  enough. 

First  Stage  ;  from  Neusattel  to  Vierstadten. 
The  22d  of  July,  or  Wednesday,  about  five  in  the  afternoon, 
was  now,  by  the  way-bill  of  the  regular  Post-coach,  irrevocably 
fixed  for  my  departure.  I  had  still  half  a  day  to  order  my  house  ; 
from  which,  for  two  nights  and  two  days  and  a  half,  my  breast, 
its  breastwork  and  palisado,  was  now,  along  with  my  Self,  to  be 
withdrawn.  Besides  this,  my  good  wife  Bergelchen,  as  I  call  my 
Teutoberga,  was  immediately  to  travel  after  me,  on  Friday  the 

17.  The  Bed  of  Honour,  since  so  frequently  whole  regiments  lie  on  it,  and 
receive  their  last  unction,  and  last  honour  but  one,  really  ought  from  time  to 
time  to  he  new-filled,  beaten  and  sunned. 


SCHMELZLE's  JOURNEY  TO  FL32TZ. 


265 


24th,  in  order  to  see  and  to  make  purchases  at  the  yearly  Fair  ; 
nay,  she  was  ready  to  have  gone  along  with  me,  the  faithful 
spouse.  I  therefore  assembled  my  little  knot  of  domestics,  and 
promulgated  to  them  the  Household  Law  and  Valedictory  Ke- 
script,  which,  after  my  departure,  in  the  first  place  before  the 
outset  of  my  wife,  and  in  the  second  place  after  this  outset,  they 
had  rigorously  to  obey ;  explaining  to  them  especially  whatever, 
in  case  of  conflagrations,  house  -  breakings,  thunder-storms,  or 
transits  of  troops,  it  would  behove  them  to  do.  To  my  wife  I 
delivered  an  inventory  of  the  best  goods  in  our  little  Eegister- 
ship ;  which  goods  she,  in  case  the  house  took  fire,  had,  in  the 
first  place,  to  secure.  I  ordered  her,  in  stormy  nights  (the  pecu- 
liar thief- weather),  to  put  our  Eolian  harp  in  the  window,  that 
so  any  villanous  prowler  might  imagine  I  was  fantasying  on  my 
instrument,  and  therefore  awake  :  for  like  reasons,  also,  to  take 
the  house-dog  within  doors  by  day,  that  he  might  sleep  then,  and 
so  be  livelier  at  night.  I  farther  counselled  her  to  have  an  eye 
on  the  focus  of  every  knot  in  the  panes  of  the  stable-window,  nay, 
on  every  glass  of  water  she  might  ' set  down  in  the  house  ;  as  I 
had  already  often  recounted  to  her  examples  of  such  accidental 
burning-glasses  having  set  whole  buildings  in  flames.  I  then 
appointed  her  the  hour  when  she  was  to  set  out  on  Friday  morning 
to  follow  me  ;  and  recapitulated  more  emphatically  the  household 
precepts,  which,  prior  to  her  departure,  she  must  afresh  inculcate 
on  her  domestics.  My  dear,  heart-sound,  blooming  Berga  ans- 
wered her  faithful  lord,  as  it  seemed  very  seriously :  "Go  thy 
ways,  little  old  one ;  it  shall  all  be  done  as  smooth  as  velvet. 
Wert  thou  but  away  !  There  is  no  end  of  thee  !"  Her  brother, 
my  brother-in-law  the  Dragoon,  for  whom,  out  of  complaisance, 
I  had  paid  the  coach-fare,  in  order  to  have  in  the  vehicle  along 
with  me  a  stout  swordsman  and  hector,  as  spiritual  relative  and 
bully-rock,  so  to  speak ;  the  Dragoon,  I  say,  on  hearing  these 
my  regulations,  puckered  up  (which  I  easily  forgave  the  wild 
soldier  and  bachelor)  his  sunburnt  face  considerably  into  ridicule, 
and  said:  "Were  I  in  thy  place,  sister,  I  should  do  what  I 
liked,  and  then  afterwards  take  a  peep  into  these  regulation- 
papers  of  his." 

120.  Many  a  one  becomes  a  free-spoken  Diogenes,  not  when  he  dwells  in  the 
Cask,  but  when  the  Cask  dwells  in  him. 

3.  Culture  makes  whole  lands,  for  instance  Germany,  Gaul,  and  others, 
physically  warmer,  but  spiritually  colder. 


266 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTEB. 


"0!"  answered  I,  "misfortune  may  conceal  itself  like  a 
scorpion  in  any  corner :  I  might  say,  we  are  like  children,  who, 
looking  at  their  gaily  painted  toy-box,  soon  pull  off  the  lid,  and, 
pop  !  out  springs  a  mouse  who  has  young  ones." 

"  Mouse,  mouse  !"  said  he,  stepping  up  and  down.  "  But, 
good  brother,  it  is  five  o'clock ;  and  you  will  find,  when  you 
return,  that  all  looks  exactly  as  it  does  today ;  the  dog  like  the 
dog,  and  my  sister  like  a  pretty  woman  :  allons  done  /"  It  was 
purely  his  blame  that  I,  fearing  his  misconceptions,  had  not  pre- 
viously made  a  sort  of  testament. 

I  now  packed-in  two  different  sorts  of  medicines,  heating  as 
well  as  cooling,  against  two  different  possibilities ;  also  my  old 
splints  for  arm  or  leg  breakages,  in  case  the  coach  overset ;  and 
(out  of  foresight)  two  times  the  money  I  was  likely  to  need.  Only 
here  I  could  have  wished,  so  uncertain  is  the  stowage  of  such 
things,  that  I  had  been  an  Ape  with  cheek-pouches,  or  some  sort 
of  Opossum  with  a  natural  bag,  that  so  I  might  have  reposited 
these  necessaries  of  existence  in  pockets  which  were  sensitive. 
Shaving  is  a  task  I  always  go  through  before  setting  out  on  jour- 
neys ;  having  a  rational  mistrust  against  stranger  bloodthirsty 
barbers  :  but,  on  this  occasion,  I  retained  my  beard ;  since,  how- 
ever close  shaved,  it  would  have  grown  again  by  the  road  to 
such  a  length  that  I  could  have  fronted  no  Minister  and  General 
with  it. 

With  a  vehement  emotion,  I  threw  myself  on  the  pith-heart 
of  my  Berga,  and,  with  a  still  more  vehement  one,  tore  myself 
away :  in  her,  however,  this  our  first  marriage -separation  seemed 
to  produce  less  lamentation  than  triumph,  less  consternation  than 
rejoicing ;  simply  because  she  turned  her  eye  not  half  so  much  on 
the  parting,  as  on  the  meeting,  and  the  journey  after  me,  and 
the  wonders  of  the  Fair.  Yet  she  threw  and  hung  herself  on  my 
somewhat  long  and  thin  neck  and  body,  almost  painfully,  being 
indeed  a  too  fleshy  and  weighty  load,  and  said  to  me  :  "Whisk 
thee  off  quick,  my  charming  Attel  (Attila),  and  trouble  thy  head 
with  no  cares  by  the  way,  thou  singular  man  !  A  whiff  or  two 
of  ill  luck  we  can  stand,  by  God's  help,  so  long  as  my  father  is 
no  beggar.  And  for  thee,  Franz,"  continued  she,  turning  with 
some  heat  to  her  brother,  "  I  leave  my  Attel  on  thy  soul :  thou 


1.  The  more  Weakness  the  more  Lying:  Force  goes  straight;  any  cannon- 
ball  with  holes  or  cavities  in  it  goes  crooked. 


schmelzle's  joukney  to  fl^tz. 


267 


well  knowest,  thou  wild  fly,  what  I  will  do,  if  thou  play  the  fool, 
and  leave  him  anywhere  in  the  lurch."  Her  meaning  here  was 
good,  and  I  could  not  take  it  ill :  to  you  also,  my  Friends,  her 
wealth  and  her  open-heartedness  are  nothing  new. 

Melted  into  sensibility,  I  said:  "Now,  Berga,  if  there  be  a 
reunion  appointed  for  us,  surely  it  is  either  in  Heaven  or  in  Flatz ; 
and  I  hope  in  God,  the  latter."  With  these  words,  we  whirled 
stoutly  away.  I  looked  round  through  the  back  -  window  of  the 
coach  at  my  good  little  village  of  Neusattel,  and  it  seemed  to  me, 
in  my  melting  mood,  as  if  its  steeples  were  rising  aloft  like  an 
epitaphium  over  my  life,  or  over  my  body,  perhaps  to  return  a 
lifeless  corpse.  "  How  will  it  all  be,"  thought  I,  "  when  thou  at 
last,  after  two  or  three  days,  comest  back  ?"  And  now  I  noticed 
my  Bergelchen  looking  after  us  from  the  garret-window.  I  leaned 
far  out  from  the  coach-door,  and  her  falcon  eye  instantly  distin- 
guished my  head ;  kiss  on  kiss  she  threw  with  both  hands  after 
the  carriage,  as  it  rolled  down  into  the  valley.  "  Thou  true- 
hearted  wife,"  thought  I,  "  how  is  thy  lowly  birth,  by  thy  spiritual 
new-birth,  made  forgettable,  nay  remarkable  !" 

I  must  confess,  the  assemblage  and  conversational  picnic  of 
the  stage-coach  was  much  less  to  my  taste :  the  whole  of  them 
suspicious,  unknown  rabble,  whom  (as  markets  usually  do)  the 
Flatz  cattle-market  was  alluring  by  its  scent.  I  dislike  becoming 
acquainted  with  strangers  :  not  so  my  brother-in-law,  the  Dra- 
goon ;  who  now,  as  he  always  does,  had  in  a  few  minutes  elbowed 
himself  into  close  quarters  with  the  whole  ragamuffin  posse  of 
them.  Beside  me  sat  a  person  who,  in  all  human  probability, 
was  a  Harlot ;  on  her  breast,  a  Dwarf  intending  to  exhibit  him- 
self at  the  Fair ;  on  the  other  side  was  a  Ratcatcher  gazing  at 
me  ;  and  a  Blind  Passenger,3  in  a  red  mantle,  had  joined  us 
down  in  the  valley.  No  one  of  them,  except  my  brother-in-law, 
pleased  me.  That  rascals  among  these  people  would  not  study 
me  and  my  properties  and  accidents,  to  entangle  me  in  their 

38.  Epictetus  advises  us  to  travel,  because  our  old  acquaintances,  by  the  in- 
fluence of  shame,  impede  our  transition  to  higher  virtues ;  as  a  bashful  man  will 
rather  lay  aside  his  provincial  accent  in  some  foreign  quarter,  and  then  return 
wholly  purified  to  his  own  countrymen :  in  our  days,  people  of  rank  and  virtue 
follow  this  advice,  but  inversely ;  and  travel  because  their  old  acquaintances,  by 
the  influence  of  shame,  would  too  much  deter  them  from  new  sins. 


» •  Live  Passenger,'  4  Nip ;'  a  passenger  taken  up  only  by  Jarvie's  authority, 
and  for  Jarvie's  profit. — Ed. 


268 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


snares,  no  man  could  be  my  surety.  In  strange  places,  I  even, 
out  of  prudence,  avoid  looking  long  up  at  any  jail- window ;  because 
some  losel,  sitting  behind  the  bars,  may  in  a  moment  call  down 
out  of  mere  malice  :  "  How  goes  it,  comrade  Schmelzle  ?"  or 
farther,  because  any  lurking  eatchpole  may  fancy  I  am  planning 
a  rescue  for  some  confederate  above.  From  another  sort  of 
prudence,  little  different  from  this,  I  also  make  a  point  of  never 
turning  round  when  any  booby  calls,  Thief !  behind  me. 

As  to  the  Dwarf  himself,  I  had  no  objection  to  his  travelling 
with  me  whithersoever  he  pleased ;  but  he  thought  to  raise  a  par- 
ticular delectation  in  our  minds,  by  promising  that  his  Pollux  and 
Brother  in  Trade,  an  extraordinary  Giant,  who  was  also  making 
for  the  Fair  to  exhibit  himself,  would  by  midnight,  with  his  ele- 
phantine pace,  infallibly  overtake  the  coach,  and  plant  himself 
among  us,  or  behind  on  the  outside.  Both  these  noodles,  it  ap- 
peared, are  in  the  habit  of  going  in  company  to  fairs,  as  reciprocal 
exaggerators  of  opposite  magnitudes  :  the  Dwarf  is  the  convex 
magnifying-glass  of  the  Giant,  the  Giant  the  concave  diminishing- 
glass  of  the  Dwarf.  Nobody  expressed  much  joy  at  the  prospect- 
ive arrival  of  this  Anti-dwarf,  except  my  brother-in-law,  who  (if  I 
may  venture  on  a  play  of  words)  seems  made,  like  a  clock,  solely 
for  the  purpose  of  striking,  and  once  actually  said  to  me  :  "  That 
if  in  the  Upper  world  he  could  not  get  a  soul  to  curry  and  towzle 
by  a  time,  he  would  rather  go  to  the  Under,  where  most  probably 
there  would  be  plenty  of  cuffing  and  to  spare."  The  Eatcatcher, 
besides  the  circumstance  that  no  man  can  prepossess  us  much  in 
his  favour,  who  lives  solely  by  poisoning,  like  this  Destroying 
Angel  of  rats,  this  mouse-Atropos  ;  and  also,  which  is  still  worse, 
that  such  a  fellow  bids  fair  to  become  an  increaser  of  the  vermin 
kingdom,  the  moment  he  may  cease  to  be  a  lessener  of  it ;  besides 
all  this,  I  say,  the  present  Eatcatcher  had  many  baneful  features 
about  him  :  first,  his  stabbing  look,  piercing  you  like  a  stiletto ; 
then  the  lean  sharp  bony  visage,  conjoined  with  his  enumeration 
of  his  considerable  stock  of  poisons  ;  then  (for  I  hated  him  more 
and  more)  his  sly  stillness,  his  sly  smile,  as  if  in  some  corner  he 
noticed  a  mouse,  as  he  would  notice  a  man !  To  me,  I  declare, 
though  usually  I  take  not  the  slightest  exception  against  people's 


32.  Our  Age  (by  some  called  the  Paper  Age,  as  if  it  were  made  from  the 
rags  of  some  better-dressed  one)  is  improving  in  so  far,  as  it  now  tears  its  rags 
rather  into  Bandages  than  into  Papers ;  although,  or  because,  the  Eag-hacker 
(the  Devil  as  they  call  it)  will  not  altogether  be  at  rest.    Meanwhile,  if  Learned 


SCHMELZLE'S  JOURNEY  TO  FLtETZ. 


269 


looks,  it  seemed  at  last  as  if  his  throat  were  a  Dog-grotto,  a 
Grotta  del  cane,  his  cheek-bones  cliffs  and  breakers,  his  hot 
breath  the  wind  of  a  calcining  furnace,  and  his  black  hairy  breast 
a  kiln  for  parching  and  roasting. 

Nor  was  I  far  wrong,  I  believe ;  for  soon  after  this,  he  began 
quite  coolly  to  inform  the  company,  in  which  were  a  dwarf  and  a 
female,  that,  in  his  time,  he  had,  not  without  enjoyment,  run  ten 
men  through  the  body ;  had  with  great  convenience  hewed  off  a 
dozen  men's  arms ;  slowly  split  four  heads,  torn  out  two  hearts, 
and  more  of  the  like  sort;  while  none  of  them,  otherwise  persons 
of  spirit,  had  in  the  least  resisted:  "but  why?"  added  he,  with 
a  poisonous  smile,  and  taking  the  hat  from  his  odious  bald  pate  : 
"I  am  invulnerable.  Let  any  one  of  the  company  that  chooses 
lay  as  much  fire  on  my  bare  crown  as  he  likes,  I  shall  not  mind 
it." 

My  brother-in-law,  the  Dragoon,  directly  kindled  his  tinder- 
box,  and  put  a  heap  of  the  burning  matter  on  the  Katcatcher's 
pole ;  but  the  fellow  stood  it,  as  if  it  had  been  a  mere  picture 
of  fire,  and  the  two  looked  expectingly  at  one  another ;  and  the 
former  smiled  very  foolishly,  saying  :  "It  was  simply  pleasant  to 
him,  like  a  good  warming-plaster ;  for  this  was  always  the  wintry 
region  of  his  body." 

Here  the  Dragoon  groped  a  little  on  the  naked  scull,  and  cried 
with  amazement,  that  "  it  was  as  cold  as  a  knee-pan." 

But  now  the  fellow,  to  our  horror,  after  some  preparations, 
actually  lifted  off  the  quarter- scull  and  held  it  out  to  us,  saying  : 
' '  He  had  sawed  it  off  a  murderer,  his  own  having  accidentally 
been  broken;"  and  withal  explained,  that  the  stabbing  and  arm- 
cutting  he  had  talked  of  was  to  be  understood  as  a  jest,  seeing  he 
had  merely  done  it  in  the  character  of  Famulus  at  an  Anatomical 
Theatre.  However,  the  jester  seemed  to  rise  little  in  favour  with 
any  of  us  ;  and  for  my  part,  as  he  put  his  brain-lid  and  sham-scull 
on  again,  I  thought  to  myself ;  ' '  This  dungbed-bell  has  changed 
its  place  indeed,  but  not  the  hemlock  it  was  made  to  cover." 

Heads  transform  themselves  into  Books,  Crowned  Heads  transform  and  coin 
themselves  into  Government  -  paper :  in  Norway,  according  to  the  Universal 
Indicator,  the  people  have  even  paper-houses  ;  and  in  many  good  German  States, 
the  Exchequer  Collegium  (to  say  nothing  of  the  Justice  Collegium)  keeps  its  own 
paper-mills,  to  furnish  wrappage  enough  for  the  meal  of  its  wind-mills.  I  could 
wish,  however,  that  our  Collegiums  would  take  pattern  from  that  Glass  Manu- 
factory at  Madrid,  in  which  (according  to  Baumgartner)  there  were  indeed  nine- 
teen clerks  stationed,  hut  also  eleven  workmen. 


270  JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDMCH  KICHTER. 

Farther,  I  could  not  but  reckon  it  a  suspicious  circumstance, 
that  he  as  well  as  all  the  company  (the  Blind  Passenger  too) 
were  making  for  this  very  Flatz,  to  which  I  myself  was  bound : 
much  good  I  could  not  expect  of  this  ;  and,  in  truth,  turning 
home  again  would  have  been  as  pleasant  to  me  as  going  on,  had 
I  not  rather  felt  a  pleasure  in  defying  the  future. 

I  come  now  to  the  red-mantled  Blind  Passenger ;  most  pro- 
bably an  Emigre  or  Refugie ;  for  he  speaks  German  not  worse 
than  he  does  French ;  and  his  name,  I  think,  was  Jean  Pierre 
or  Jean  Paul,  or  some  such  thing,  if  indeed  he  had  any  name. 
His  red  cloak,  notwithstanding  this  his  identity  of  colour  with 
the  Hangman,  would  in  itself  have  remained  heartily  indifferent 
to  me,  had  it  not  been  for  this  singular  circumstance,  that  he 
had  already  five  times,  contrary  to  all  expectation,  come  upon 
me  in  five  different  towns  (in  great  Berlin,  in  little  Hof,  in 
Coburg,  Meiningen  and  Bayreuth),  and  each  of  these  times  had 
looked  at  me  significantly  enough,  and  then  gone  his  ways. 
Whether  this  Jean  Pierre  is  dogging  me  with  hostile  intent  or 
not,  I  cannot  say ;  but  to  our  fancy,  at  any  rate,  no  object  can 
be  gratifying  that  thus,  with  corps  of  observation,  or  out  of  loop- 
holes, holds  and  aims  at  us  with  muskets,  which  for  year  after 
year  it  shall  move  to  this  side  and  that,  without  our  knowing  on 
whom  it  is  to  fire.  Still  more  offensive  did  Bedcloak  become 
to  me,  when  he  began  to  talk  about  his  soft  mildness  of  soul ;  a 
thing  which  seemed  either  to  betoken  pumping  you  or  under- 
mining you. 

I  replied:  "  Sir,  I  am  just  come,  with  my  brother-in-law 
here,  from  the  field  of  battle  (the  last  affair  was  at  Pimpelstadt), 
and  so  perhaps  am  too  much  of  a  humour  for  fire,  pluck  and  war- 
fury  ;  and  to  many  a  one,  who  happens  to  have  a  roaring  water- 
spout of  a  heart,  it  may  be  well  if  his  clerical  character  (which  is 
mine)  rather  enjoins  on  him  mildness  than  wildness.  However, 
all  mildness  has  its  iron  limit.  If  any  thoughtless  dog  chance  to 
anger  me,  in  the  first  heat  of  rage  I  kick  my  foot  through  him ; 
and  after  me,  my  good  brother  here  will  perhaps  drive  matters 
twice  as  far, 'for  he  is  the  man  to  do  it.  Perhaps  it  may  be 
singular ;  but  I  confess  I  regret  to  this  day,  that  once  when  a 
boy  I  received  three  blows  from  another,  without  tightly  return- 


2.  In  his  Prince,  a  Boldier  reverences  and  obeys  at  once  his  Prince  and  his 
Generalissimo  ;  a  Citizen  only  his  Prince. 


schmelzle's  journey  to  fl^etz. 


271 


ing  them ;  and  I  often  feel  as  if  I  must  still  pay  them  to  his 
descendants.  In  sooth,  if  I  hut  chance  to  see  a  child  running 
off  like  a  dastard  from  the  weak  attack  of  a  child  like  himself,  I 
cannot  for  my  life  understand  his  running,  and  can  scarcely  keep 
from  interfering  to  save  him  by  a  decisive  knock." 

The  Passenger  meanwhile  was  smiling,  not  in  the  best  fashion. 
He  gave  himself  out  for  a  Legations-Bath,  and  seemed  fox  enough 
for  such  a  post ;  but  a  mad  fox  will,  in  the  long-run,  bite  me  as 
rabidly  as  a  mad  wolf  will.  For  the  rest,  I  calmly  went  on  with 
my  eulogy  on  courage ;  only  that,  instead  of  ludicrous  gasconading, 
which  directly  betrays  the  coward,  I  purposely  expressed  myself 
in  words  at  once  cool,  clear  and  firm. 

"I  am  altogether  for  Montaigne's  advice,"  said  I:  "Fear 
nothing  but  fear." 

"  I  again,"  replied  the  Legations-man,  with  useless  wire- 
drawing, "  I  should  fear  again  that  I  did  not  sufficiently  fear 
fear,  but  continued  too  dastardly." 

"  To  this  fear  also,"  replied  I  coldly,  "  I  set  limits.  A  man, 
for  instance,  may  not  in  the  least  believe  in,  or  be  afraid  of 
ghosts ;  and  yet  by  night  may  bathe  himself  in  cold  sweat,  and 
this  purely  out  of  terror  at  the  dreadful  fright  he  should  be  in 
(especially  with  what  whiffs  of  apoplexies,  falling-sicknesses  and 
so  forth,  he  might  be  visited),  in  case  simply  his  own  too  vivid 
fancy  should  create  any  wild  fever-image,  and  hang  it  up  in  the 
air  before  him." 

"  One  should  not,  therefore,"  added  my  brother-in-law  the 
Dragoon,  contrary  to  his  custom,  moralising  a  little,  "one  should 
not  bamboozle  the  poor  sheep,  man,  with  any  ghost-tricks ;  the 
hen-heart  may  die  on  the  spot." 

A  loud  storm  of  thunder,  overtaking  the  stage-coach,  altered 
the  discourse.  You,  my  Friends,  knowing  me  as  a  man  not  quite 
destitute  of  some  tincture  of  Natural  Philosophy,  will  easily  guess 
my  precautions  against  thunder.  I  place  myself  on  a  chair  in  the 
middle  of  the  room  (often,  when  suspicious  clouds  are  out,  I  stay 
whole  nights  on  it),  and  by  careful  removal  of  all  conductors, 
rings,  buckles,  and  so  forth,  I  here  sit  thunder-proof,  and  listen 
with  a  cool  spirit  to  this  elemental  music  of  the  cloud-kettledrum. 
These  precautions  have  never  harmed  me,  for  I  am  still  alive  at 

45.  Our  present  writers  shrug  their  shoulders  most  at  those  on  whose  shoui* 
ders  they  stand ;  and  exalt  those  jnost  who  crawl  up  along  them. 


272 


JEAN  PAUL  FMEDKICH  EICHTER. 


this  date ;  and  to  the  present  hour  I  congratulate  myself  on  once 
hurrying  out  of  church,  though  I  had  confessed  but  the  day  pre- 
vious ;  and  running,  without  more  ceremony,  and  before  I  had 
received  the  sacrament,  into  the  charnel-house,  because  a  heavy 
thunder-cloud  (which  did,  in  fact,  strike  the  churchyard  linden- 
tree)  was  hovering  over  it.  So  soon  as  the  cloud  had  disloaded 
itself,  I  returned  from  the  charnel-house  into  the  church,  and  was 
happy  enough  to  come  in  after  the  Hangman  (usually  the  last), 
and  so  still  participate  in  the  Feast  of  Love. 

Such,  for  my  own  part,  is  my  manner  of  proceeding :  but  in 
the  full  stage-coach  I  met  with  men  to  whom  Natural  Philosophy 
was  no  philosophy  at  all.  For  when  the  clouds  gathered  dread- 
fully together  over  our  coach-canopy,  and  sparkling,  began  to  play 
through  the  air  like  so  many  fire-flies,  and  I  at  last  could  not  but 
request  that  the  sweating  coach- conclave  would  at  least  bring  out 
their  watches,  rings,  money  and  suchlike,  and  put  them  all  into 
one  of  the  carriage-pockets,  that  none  of  us  might  have  a  .con- 
ductor on  his  body;  not  only  would  no  one  of  them  do  it,  but  my 
own  brother-in-law  the  Dragoon  even  sprang  out,  with  naked 
drawn  sword,  to  the  coach-box,  and  swore  that  he  would  conduct 
the  thunder  all  away  himself.  Nor  do  I  know  whether  this  des- 
perate mortal  was  not  acting  prudently ;  for  our  position  within 
was  frightful,  and  any  one  of  us  might  every  moment  be  a  dead 
man.  At  last,  to  crown  all,  I  got  into  a  half  altercation  with  two 
of  the  rude  members  of  our  leathern  household,  the  Poisoner  and 
the  Harlot ;  seeing,  by  their  questions,  they  almost  gave  me  to 
understand  that,  in  our  conversational  picnic,  especially  with  the 
Blind  Passenger,  I  had  not  always  come  off  with  the  best  share. 
Such  an  imputation  wounds  your  honour  to  the  quick;  and  in  my 
breast  there  was  a  thunder  louder  than  that  above  us  :  however, 
I  was  obliged  to  carry  on  the  needful  exchange  of  sharp  words  as 
quietly  and  slowly  as  possible ;  and  I  quarrelled  softly,  and  in  a 
low  tone,  lest  in  the  end  a  whole  coachful  of  people,  set  in  arms 
against  each  other,  might  get  into  heat  and  perspiration ;  and  so, 
by  vapour  steaming  through  the  coach-roof,  conduct  the  too-near 
thunderbolt  down  into  the  midst  of  us.    At  last,  I  laid  before  the 


103.  The  Great  perhaps  take  as  good  charge  of  their  posterity  as  the  Ants  : 
the  eggs  once  laid,  the  male  and  female  Ants  fly  about  their  business,  and  con- 
fide them  to  the  trusty  working-Ants. 

10.  And  does  Life  offer  us,  in  regard  to  our  ideal  hopes  and  purposes,  any- 
thing but  a  prosaic,  unrhymed,  unmetrical  Translation  ? 


SCHMELZLE's  JOURNEY  TO  FLJET'Z. 


273 


Company  the  whole  theory  of  Electricity,  in  clear  words,  but  low 
and  slow  (striving  to  avoid  all  emission  of  vapour) ;  and  especially 
endeavoured  to  frighten  them  away  from  fear.  For  indeed,  through 
fear,  the  stroke — nay  two  strokes,  the  electric  or  the  apoplectic 
—  might  hit  any  one  of  us  ;  since  in  Erxleben  and  Reimarus,  it 
is  sufficiently  proved,  that  violent  fear,  by  the  transpiration  it 
causes,  may  attract  the  lightning.  I  accordingly,  in  some  fear 
of  my  own  and  other  people's  fear,  represented  to  the  passengers 
that  now,  in  a  coach  so  hot  and  crowded,  with  a  drawn  sword  on 
the  coach-box  piercing  the  very  lightning,  with  the  thunder-cloud 
hanging  over  us,  and  even  with  so  many  transpirations  from  in- 
cipient fear ;  in  short,  with  such  visible  danger  on  every  hand, 
they  must  absolutely  fear  nothing,  if  they  would  not,  all  and  sun- 
dry, be  smitten  to  death  in  a  few  minutes. 

"  0  Heaven  !"  cried  I,  "  Courage  !  only  courage  !  No  fear, 
not  even  fear  of  fear !  "Would  you  have  Providence  to  shoot  you 
here  sitting,  like  so  many  hares  hunted  into  a  pinfold  ?  Fear,  if 
you  like,  when  you  are  out  of  the  coach;  fear  to  your  heart's 
content  in  other  places,  where  there  is  less  to  be  afraid  of ;  only 
not  here,  not  here  !" 

I  shall  not  determine — since  among  millions  scarcely  one 
man  dies  by  thunder-clouds,  but  millions  perhaps  by  snow-clouds, 
and  rain-clouds,  and  thin  mist — whether  my  Coach-sermon  could 
have  made  any  claim  to  a  prize  for  man-saving  ;  however,  at  last, 
all  uninjured,  and  chiving  towards  a  rainbow,  we  entered  the  town 
of  Vierstadten,  where  dwelt  a  Postmaster,  in  the  only  street  which 
the  place  had. 

Second  Stage  ;  from  Vierstadten  to  Niederschdna. 
The  Postmaster  was  a  churl  and  a  striker  ;  a  class  of  mortals 
whom  I  inexpressibly  detest,  as  my  fancy  always  whispers  to  me, 
in  their  presence,  that  by  accident  or  dislike  I  might  happen  to 
put  on  a  scornful  or  impertinent  look,  and  hound  these  mastiffs 
on  my  own  throat ;  and  so,  from  the  very  first,  I  must  inces- 
santly watch  them.    Happily,  in  this  case  (supposing  I  even  had 


78.  Our  German  frame  of  Government,  cased  in  its  harness,  had  much  diffi- 
culty in  moving,  for  the  same  reason  why  Beetles  cannot  fly,  when  their  loings 
have  wing -shells,  of  very  sufficient  strength,  and — grown  together. 

8.  Constitutions  of  Government  are  like  highways  :  on  a  new  and  quite  un- 
trodden one,  where  every  carriage  helps  in  the  process  of  bruising  aud  smooth- 
ing, you  are  as  much  jolted  and  pitched  as  on  an  old  worn-out  cue,  full  of  holeB  ? 
What  is  to  be  done  then  ?    Travel  on. 

VOL.  III.  T 


274 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


made  a  wrong  face),  I  could  have  shielded  myself  with  the  Dra- 
goon ;  for  whose  giant  force  such  matters  are  a  tidbit.  This 
brother-in-law  of  mine,  for  example,  cannot  pass  any  tavern  where 
he  hears  a  sound  of  battle,  without  entering,  and,  as  he  crosses 
the  threshold,  shouting  :  "  Peace,  dogs  !" — and  therewith,  under 
show  of  a  peace -deputation,  he  directly  snatches  up  the  first  chair- 
leg  in  his  hand,  as  if  it  were  an  American  peace-calumet,  and 
cuts  to  the  right  and  left  among  the  belligerent  powers,  or  he 
gnashes  the  hard  heads  of  the  parties  together  (he  himself  takes 
no  side),  catching  each  by  the  hind-lock ;  in  such  cases  the  rogue 
is  in  Heaven ! 

I,  for  my  part,  rather  avoid  discrepant  circles  than  seek  them ; 
as  I  likewise  avoid  all  dead  or  killed  people :  the  prudent  man 
easily  foresees  what  is  to  be  got  by  them ;  either  vexatious  and 
injurious  witnessing,  or  often  even  (when  circumstances  conspire) 
painful  investigation,  and  suspicions  of  your  being  an  accomplice. 

In  Vierstadten,  nothing  of  importance  presented  itself,  except 
- — to  my  horror — a  dog  without  tail,  which  came  running  along 
the  town  or  street.  In  the  first  fire  of  passion  at  this  sight,  I 
pointed  it  out  to  the  passengers,  and  then  put  the  question,  Whe- 
ther they  could  reckon  a  system  of  Medical  Police  well  arranged, 
which,  like  this  of  Vierstadten,  allowed  dogs  openly  to  scour 
about,  when  their  tails  were  wanting?  "What  am  I  to  do," 
said  I,  "  when  this  member  is  cut  away,  and  any  such  beast 
comes  running  towards  me,  and  I  cannot,  either  by  the  tail  being 
cocked  up  or  being  drawn  in,  since  the  whole  is  snipt  off,  come 
to  any  conclusion  whether  the  vermin  is  mad  or  not  ?  In  this 
way,  the  most  prudent  man  may  be  bit,  and  become  rabid,  and  so 
make  shipwreck  purely  for  want  of  a  tail-compass." 

The  Blind  Passenger  (he  now  got  himself  inscribed  as  a  See-' 
ing  one,  God  knows  for  what  objects)  had  heard  my  observation ; 
which  he  now  spun  out  in  my  presence  almost  into  ridicule,  and 
at  last  awakened  in  me  the  suspicion,  that  by  an  overdone  flattery 
in  imitating  my  style  of  speech,  he  meant  to  banter  me.  "  The 
Dog-tail,"  said  he,  "is,  in  truth,  an  alarm-beacon,  and  finger- 
post for  us,  that  we  come  not  even  into  the  outmost  precincts  of 


3.  In  Criminal  Courts,  murdered  children  are  often  represented  as  still-born; 
in  Anticritiques,  still-born  as  murdered. 

J  01.  Not  only  were  the  Rhodians,  from  their  Colossus,  called  Colossians  ;  but 
also  innumerable  Germans  are,  from  their  Luther,  called  Lutherans. 


schmelzle's  journey  to  flietz. 


275 


madness  :  cut  away  from  Comets  their  tails,  from  Bashaws  theirs, 
from  Crabs  theirs  (outstretched  it  denotes  that  they  are  burst) ; 
and  in  the  most  dangerous  predicaments  of  life  we  are  left  with- 
out clew,  without  indicator,  without  hand  in  margine ;  and  we 
perish,  not  so  much  as  knowing  how," 

For  the  rest,  this  stage  passed  over  without  quarrelling  or 
peril.  About  ten  o'clock,  the  whole  party,  including  even  the 
Postillion,  myself  excepted,  fell  asleep.  I  indeed  pretended  to  be 
sleeping,  that  I  might  observe  whether  some  one,  for  his  own 
good  reasons,  might  not  also  be  pretending  it ;  but  all  continued 
snoring ;  the  moon  threw  its  brightening  beams  on  nothing  but 
down-pressed  eyelids. 

I  had  now  a  glorious  opportunity  of  following  Lavater's  coun- 
sel, to  apply  the  physiognomical  ellwand  specially  to  sleepers, 
since  sleep,  like  death,  expresses  the  genuine  form  in  coarser 
lines.  Other  sleepers  not  in  stage-coaches  I  think  it  less  advis- 
able to  mete  with  this  ellwand ;  having  always  an  apprehension 
lest  some  fellow,  but  pretending  to  be  asleep,  may,  the  instant 
I  am  near  enough,  start  up  as  in  a  dream,  and  deceitfully  plant 
such  a  knock  on  the  physiognomical  mensurator's  own  facial  struc- 
ture, as  to  exclude  it  forever  from  appearing  in  any  Physiognomi- 
cal Fragments  (itself  being  reduced  to  one),  either  in  the  stippled 
or  line  style.  Nay,  might  not  the  most  honest  sleeper  in  the 
world,  just  while  you  are  in  hand  with  his  physiognomical  dissec- 
tion, lay  about  him,  spurred  on  by  honour  in  some  cudgelling- 
scene  he  may  be  dreaming ;  and  in  a  few  instants  of  clapper- 
clawing, and  kicking,  and  trampling,  lull  you  into  a  much  more 
lasting  sleep  than  that  out  of  which  he  was  awakened  ? 

In  my  Adumbrating  Magic  -lantern,  as  I  have  named  the 
Work,  the  whole  physiognomical  contents  of  this  same  sleeping 
stage-coach  will  be  given  to  the  world  :  there  I  shall  explain  to 
you  at  large  how  the  Poisoner,  with  the  murder-cupola,  appeared 
to  me  devil-like  ;  the  Dwarf  old- childlike  ;  the  Harlot  languidly 
shameless ;  my  Brother-in-law  peacefully  satisfied,  with  revenge 
or  food;  and  the  Legations -Kath,  Jean  Pierre,  Heaven  only 

88.  Hitherto  I  have  always  regarded  the  Polemical  writings  of  our  present 
philosophic  and  aesthetic  Idealist  Logic-huffers, — in  which,  certainly,  a  few  con- 
tumelies, and  misconceptions,  arid  misconclusions  do  make  their  appearance, — 
rather  on  the  fair  side ;  observing  in  it  merely  an  imitation  of  classical  Anti- 
quity, in  particular  of  the  ancient  Athletes,  who  (according  to  Schottgen)  be- 
smeared their  bodies  with  mud,  that  they  might  not  be  laid  hold  of ;  and  filled 
their  hands  with  sand,  that  they  might  lay  hold  of  their  antagonists. 


276 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDBICH  RICHTER. 


knows  why,  like  a  half  angel, — though,  perhaps,  it  might  he 
because  only  the  fair  body,  not  the  other  half,  the  soul,  which 
had  passed  away  in  sleep,  was  affecting  me. 

I  had  almost  forgotten  to  mention,  that  in  a  little  village, 
while  my  Brother-in-law  and  the  Postillion  were  sitting  at  their 
liquor,  I  happily  fronted  a  small  terror,  Destiny  having  twice  been 
on  my  side.  Not  far  from  a  Hunting  Box,  beside  a  pretty  clump 
of  trees,  I  noticed  a  white  tablet,  with  a  black  inscription  on  it. 
This  gave  me  hopes  that  perhaps  some  little  monumental  piece, 
some  pillar  of  honour,  some  battle  memento,  might  here  be  await- 
ing me.  Over  an  untrodden  flowery  tangle,  I  reach  the  black  on 
white  ;  and  to  my  horror  and  amazement,  I  decipher  in  the  moon- 
shine :  Beware  of  Spring-guns  !  Thus  was  I  standing  perhaps 
half  a  nail's  breadth  from  the  trigger,  with  which,  if  I  but  stirred 
my  heel,  I  should  shoot  myself  off  like  a  forgotten  ramrod,  into 
the  other  world,  beyond  the  verge  of  Time  !  The  first  thing  I 
did  was  to  cramp-down  my  toe-nails,  to  bite,  and,  as  it  were,  eat 
myself  into  the  ground  with  them ;  since  I  might  at  least  con- 
tinue in  warm  life  so  long  as  I  pegged  my  body  firmly  in  beside 
the  Atropos-scissors  and  hangman's  block,  which  lay  beside  me ; 
then  I  endeavoured  to  recollect  by  what  steps  the  fiend  had  let 
me  hither  unshot,  but  in  my  agony  I  had  perspired  the  whole  of 
it,  and  could  remember  nothing.  In  the  Devil's  village  close  at 
hand,  there  was  no  dog  to  be  seen  and  called  to,  who  might  have 
plucked  me  from  the  water ;  and  my  Brother-in-law  and  the 
Postillion  were  both  carousing  with  full  can.  However,  I  sum- 
moned my  courage  and  determination ;  wrote  down  on  a  leaf  of 
my  pocket-book  my  last  will,  the  accidental  manner  of  my  death, 
and  my  dying  remembrance  of  Berga ;  and  then,  with  full  sails, 
flew  helterskelter  through  the  midst  of  it  the  shortest  way ;  ex- 
pecting at  every  step  to  awaken  the  murderous  engine,  and  thus 
to  clap  over  my  still  long  candle  of  life  the  bonsoir,  or  extin- 
guisher, with  my  own  hand.  However,  I  got  off  without  shot. 
In  the  tavern,  indeed,  there  was  more  than  one  fool  to  laugh  at 

103.  Or  are  all  Mosques,  Episcopal-churches,  Pagodas,  Chapels-of-Ease, 
Tabernacles  and  Pantheons,  anything  else  than  the  Ethnic  Forecourt  of  the 
Invisible  Temple  and  its  Holy  of  Holies  ? 

40.  The  common  man  is  copious  only  in  narration,  not  in  reasoning;  the 
cultivated  man  is  brief  only  in  the  former,  not  in  the  latter  :  because  the  com- 
mon man's  reasons  are  a  sort  of  sensations,  which,  as  well  as  things  visible,  he 
merely  looks  at ;  by  the  cultivated  man,  again,  both  reasons  and  things  visible 
are  rather  thought  than  looked  at. 


schmelzle's  journey  to  fl^jtz. 


277 


me ;  because,  forsooth,  what  none  but  a  fool  could  know,  this 
Notice  had  stood  there  for  the  last  ten  years,  without  any  gun, 
as  guns  often  do  without  any  notice.  But  so  it  is,  my  Friends, 
with  our  game-police,  which  warns  against  all  things,  only  not 
against  warnings. 

For  the  rest,  throughout  the  whole  stage,  I  had  a  constant 
source  of  altercation  with  the  coachman,  because  he  grudged 
stopping  perhaps  once  in  the  quarter  of  an  hour,  when  I  chose 
to  come  out  for  a  natural  purpose.  Unhappily,  in  truth,  one  has 
little  reason  to  expect  water-doctors  among  the  postillion  class, 
since  Physicians  themselves  have  so  seldom  learned  from  Haller's 
large  Physiology,  that  a  postponement  of  the  above  operation  will 
precipitate  devilish  stoneware,  and  at  last  precipitate  the  proprietor 
himself ;  this  stone-manufactory  being  generally  concluded,  not  by 
the  Lithotomist,  but  by  Death.  Had  postillions  read  that  Tycho 
Brahe  died  like  a  bombshell  by  bursting,  they  would  rather  pull 
up  for  a  moment ;  with  such  unlooked-for  knowledge,  they  would 
see  it  to  be  reasonable  that  a  man,  though  expecting  some  time 
to  carry  his  death-stone  on  him,  should  not  incline,  for  the  time 
being,  to  carry  it  in  him.  Nay,  have  I  not  often,  at  Weimar,  in 
the  longest  concluding  scenes  of  Schiller,  run  out  with  tears  in 
my  eyes ;  purely  that,  while  his  Minerva  was  melting  me  on  the 
whole,  I  might  not  by  the  Gorgon's  head  on  her  breast  be  par- 
tially turned  to  stone  ?  And  did  I  not  return  to  the  weeping 
playhouse,  and  fall  into  the  general  emotion  so  much  the  more 
briskly,  as  now  I  had  nothing  to  give  vent  to  but  my  heart  ? 

Deep  in  the  dark  we  arrived  at  Niederschona. 

Third  Stage  ;  from  Niederschona  to  Flatz. 
While  I  am  standing  at  the  Posthouse  musing,  with  my  eye 
fixed  on  my  portmanteau,  comes  a  beast  of  a  watchman,  and 
bellows  and  brays  in  his  night-tube  so  close  by  my  ear,  that  I 
start  back  in  trepidation,  I  whom  even  a  too  hasty  accosting  will 
vex.  Is  there  no  medical  police,  then,  against  such  efflated  hour 
fulminators  and  alarm-cannon,  by  which  notwithstanding  no  gun- 
powder cannon  are  saved?  In  my  opinion,  nobody  should  be 
invested  with  the  watchman-horn  but  some  reasonable  man,  who 


9.  In  any  national  calamity,  the  ancient  Egyptians  took  revenge  on  the  god 
Typhon,  whom  they  blamed  for  it,  by  hurling  his  favourites,  the  Asses,  down 
over  rocks.  In  similar  wise  have  countries  of  a  different  religion  now  and  then 
taken  their  revenge. 


278 


JEAN  PAUL  FBIEDRICH  EICHTER. 


had  already  blown  himself  into  an  asthma,  and  who  would  conse- 
quently be  in  case  to  sing  out  his  hour-verse  so  low,  that  you 
could  not  hear  it. 

What  I  had  long  expected,  and  the  Dwarf  predicted,  now  took 
place  :  deeply  stooping,  through  the  high  Posthouse  door,  issued 
the  Giant,  and  raised,  in  the  open  air,  a  most  unreasonably  high 
figure,  heightened  by  the  ell-long  bonnet  and  feather  on  his  huge 
jobber-nowl.  My  Brother-in-law,  beside  him,  looked  but  like  his 
son  of  fourteen  years  ;  the  Dwarf  like  his  lap-dog  waiting  for  him 
on  its  two  hind  legs.  "  Good  friend,"  said  my  bantering  Brother- 
in-law,  leading  him  towards  me  and  the  stage-coach,  "just  step 
softly  in,  we  shall  all  be  happy  to  make  room  for  you.  Fold  your- 
self neatly  together,  lay  your  head  on  your  knee,  and  it  will  do." 
The  unseasonable  banterer  would  willingly  have  seen  the  almost 
stupid  Giant  (of  whom  he  had  soon  observed  that  his  brain  was 
no  active  substance,  but  in  the  inverse  ratio  of  his  trunk)  squeezed 
in  among  us  in  the  post- chest,  and  lying  kneaded  together  like  a 
sand-bag  before  him.  "  Won't  do  !  Won't  do  !"  said  the  Giant, 
looking  in.  "  The  gentleman  perhaps  does  not  know,"  said  the 
Dwarf,  "  how  big  the  Giant  is ;  and  so  he  thinks  that  because  I 
go  in — But  that  is  another  story ;  I  will  creep  into  any  hole,  do 
but  tell  me  where." 

In  short,  there  was  no  resource  for  the  Postmaster  and  the 
Giant,  but  that  the  latter  should  plant  himself  behind,  in  the 
character  of  luggage,  and  there  lie  bending  down  like  a  weeping 
willow  over  the  whole  vehicle.  To  me  such  a  back- wall  and  rear- 
guard could  not  be  particularly  gratifying :  and  I  may  refer  it,  I 
hope,  to  any  one  of  you,  ye  Friends,  if  with  such  ware  at  your 
back,  you  would  not,  as  clearly  and  earnestly  as  I,  have  considered 
what  manifold  murderous  projects  a  knave  of  a  Giant  behind  you, 
a  pursuer  in  all  senses,  might  not  maliciously  attempt ;  say,  that 
he  broke  in  and  assailed  you  by  the  back- window,  or  with  Titanian 
strength  laid  hold  of  the  coach -roof  and  demolished  the  whole 
party  in  a  lump.  However,  this  Elephant  (who  indeed  seemed 
to  owe  the  similarity  more  to  his  overpowering  mass  than  to  his 


70.  Let  Poetry  veil  itself  in  Philosophy,  hut  only  as  the  latter  does  in  the 
former.  Philosophy  in  poetised  Prose  resembles  those  tavern  drinking-glasses, 
encircled  with  parti-coloured  wreaths  of  figures,  which  disturb  your  enjoyment 
both  of  the  drink,  and  (often  awkwardly  eclipsing  and  covering  each  other)  of 
the  carving  also. 


SCHmelzle's  journey  to  fl^tz. 


279 


quick  light  of  inward  faculty),  crossing  his  arms  over  the  top  of 
the  vehicle,  soon  began  to  sleep  and  snore  above  us  ;  an  Elephant, 
of  whom,  as  I  more  and  more  joyfully  observed,  my  Brother-in- 
law  the  Dragoon  could  easily  be  the  tamer  and  bridle -holder,  nay 
had  already  been  so. 

As  more  than  one  person  now  felt  inclined  to  sleep,  but  I,  on 
the  contrary,  as  was  proper,  to  wake,  I  freely  offered  my  seat  of 
honour,  the  front  place  in  the  coach  (meaning  thereby  to  abolish 
many  little  flaws  of  envy  in  my  fellow-passengers),  to  such  persons 
as  wished  to  take  a  nap  thereon.  The  Legations-man  accepted  the 
offer  with  eagerness,  and  soon  fell  asleep  there  sitting,  under  the 
Titan.4  To  me  this  sort  of  coach-sleeping  of  a  diplomatic  charge 
d'affaires  remained  a  thing  incomprehensible.  A  man  that,  in 
the  middle  of  a  stranger  and  often  barbarously-minded  company, 
permits  himself  to  slumber,  may  easily,  supposing  him  to  talk  in 
his  sleep  and  coach  (think  of  the  Saxon  minister5  before  the 
Seven- Years  War!),  blab  out  a  thousand  secrets,  and  crimes, 
some  of  which,  perhaps,  he  has  not  committed.  Should  not 
every  minister,  ambassador,  or  other  man  of  honour  and  rank, 
really  shudder  at  the  thought  of  insanity  or  violent  fevers ;  seeing 
no  mortal  can  be  his  surety  that  he  shall  not  in  such  cases  publish 
the  greatest  scandals,  of  which,  it  may  be,  the  half  are  lies  ? 

At  last,  after  the  long  July  night,  we  passengers,  together  with 
Aurora,  arrived  in  the  precincts  of  Flatz.  I  looked  with  a  sharp 
yet  moistened  eye  at  the  steeples  :  I  believe,  every  man  who  has 
anything  decisive  to  seek  in  a  town,  and  to  whom  it  is  either  to 
be  a  judgment-seat  of  his  hopes,  or  their  anchoring-station,  either 
a  battle-field  or  a  sugar-field,  first  and  longest  directs  his  eye  on 
the  steeples  of  the  town,  as  upon  the  indexes  and  balance-tongues 
of  his  future  destiny ;  these  artificial  peaks,  which,  like  natural 
ones,  are  the  thrones  of  our  Future.  As  I  happened  to  express 
myself  on  this  point  perhaps  too  poetically  to  Jean  Pierre,  he 
answered,  with  sufficient  want  of  taste  :  "  The  steeples  of  such 
towns  are  indeed  the  Swiss  Alpine  peaks,  on  which  we  milk  and 
manufacture  the  Swiss  cheese  of  our  Future."  Did  the  Legations- 
Peter  mean  with  this  style  to  make  me  ridiculous,  or  only  him- 
self ?   Determine ! 

4  Titan  is  also  the  title  of  this  Legations-Rath  Jean  Pierre  or  Jean  Paul 
(Friedrich  Richter)'s  chief  novel. — Ed. 

5  Briihl,  I  suppose  ;  but  the  historical  edition  of  the  matter  is,  that  Bruhl's 
treasonable  secrets  were  come  at  by  the  more  ordinary  means  of  wax  impressions 
of  his  keys. — Ed, 


280 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


"  Here  is  the  place,  the  town,"  said  I  in  secret,  "  where  today 
much  and  for  many  years  is  to  be  determined ;  where  thou,  this 
evening,  about  five  o'clock,  art  to  present  thy  petition  and  thyself : 
May  it  prosper  !  May  it  be  successful !  Let  Flatz,  this  arena  of 
thy  little  efforts  among  the  rest,  become  a  building-space  for  fair 
castles  and  air-castles  to  two  hearts,  thy  own  and  thy  Berga's  !" 

At  the  Tiger  Inn  I  alighted. 

First  Bay  in  Flatz. 
No  mortal,  in  my  situation  at  this  Tiger-hotel,  would  have 
triumphed  much  in  his  more  immediate  prospects.  I,  as  the  only 
man  known  to  me,  especially  in  the  way  of  love  (of  the  runaway 
Dragoon  anon  !),  looked  out  from  the  windows  of  the  overflowing 
Inn,  and  down  on  the  rushing  sea  of  marketers,  and  very  soon 
began  to  reflect,  that  except  Heaven  and  the  rascals  and  mur- 
derers, none  knew  how  many  of  the  latter  two  classes  were  float- 
ing among  the  tide ;  purposing  perhaps  to  lay  hold  of  the  most 
innocent  strangers,  and  in  part  cut  their  purses,  in  part  their 
throats.  My  situation  had  a  special  circumstance  against  it.  My 
Brother-in-law,  who  still  comes  plump  out  with  everything,  had 
mentioned  that  I  was  to  put  up  at  the  Tiger :  0  Heaven,  when 
will  such  people  learn  to  be  secret,  and  to  cover  even  the  meanest 
pettinesses  of  life  under  mantles  and  veils,  were  it  only  that  a 
silly  mouse  may  as  often  give  birth  to  a  mountain,  as  a  mountain 
to  a  mouse  !  The  whole  rabble  of  the  stage-coach  stopped  at  the 
Tiger ;  the  Harlot,  the  Batcatcher,  Jean  Pierre,  the  Giant,  who 
had  dismounted  at  the  Gate  of  the  town,  and  carrying  the  huge 
block-head  of  the  Dwarf  on  his  shoulders  as  his  own  (cloaking 
over  the  deception  by  his  cloak),  had  thus,  like  a  ninny,  exhibited 
himself  gratis  by  half  a  dwarf  more  gigantic  than  he  could  be  seen 
for  money. 

158.  Governments  should  not  too  often  change  the  penny-trumps  and  child's- 
drums  of  the  Poets  for  the  regimental  trumpet  and  fire-drum :  on  the  other  hand, 
good  subjects  should  regard  many  a  princely  drum-tendency  simply  as  a  disease, 
in  which  the  patient,  by  air  insinuating  under  the  skin,  has  got  dreadfully 
swoln. 

89.  In  great  towns,  a  stranger,  for  the  first  day  or  two  after  his  arrival,  lives 
purely  at  his  own  expense  in  an  inn ;  afterwards,  in  the  houses  of  his  friends, 
without  expense  :  on  the  other  hand,  if  you  arrive  at  the  Earth,  as,  for  instance, 
I  have  done,  you  are  courteously  maintained,  precisely  for  the  first  few  years, 
free  of  charges  ;  hut  in  the  next  and  longer  series — for  you  often  stay  sixty — you 
are  actually  obliged  (I  have  the  documents  in  my  hands)  to  pay  for  every  drop 
and  morsel,  as  if  you  were  in  the  great  Earth  Inn,  which  indeed  you  are. 


schmelzle's  joukney  to  fl^tz, 


281 


And  now  for  each  of  the  Passengers,  the  question  was,  how 
he  could  make  the  Tiger,  the  heraldic  emblem  of  the  Inn,  his 
prototype ;  and  so,  what  lamb  he  might  suck  the  blood  of,  and 
tear  in  pieces,  and  devour.  My  Brother-in-law  too  left  me,  hav- 
ing gone  in  quest  of  some  horse-dealer ;  but  he  retained  the 
chamber  next  mine  for  his  sister  :  this,  it  appeared,  was  to  de- 
note attention  on  his  part.  I  remained  solitary,  left  to  my  own 
intrepidity  and  force  of  purpose. 

Yet  among  so  many  villains,  encompassing  if  not  even  belea- 
guering me,  I  thought  warmly  of  one  far  distant,  faithful  soul,  of 
my  Berga  in  Neusattel ;  a  true  heart  of  pith,  which  perhaps  with 
many  a  weak  marriage -partner  might  have  given  protection  rather 
than  sought  it. 

"Appear,  then,  quickly  tomorrow  at  noon,  Berga,"  said  my 
heart;  "and  if  possible  before  noon,  that  I  may  lengthen  thy 
market  paradise  so  many  hours  as  thou  arrivest  earlier  !" 

A  clergyman,  amid  the  tempests  of  the  world,  readily  makes 
for  a  free  harbour,  for  the  church  :  the  church-wall  is  his  case- 
mate-wall and  fortification ;  and  behind  are  to  be  found  more 
peaceful  and  more  accordant  souls  than  on  the  market-place  :  in 
short,  I  went  into  the  High  Church.  However,  in  the  course  of 
the  psalm,  I  was  somewhat  disturbed  by  a  Heiduc,  who  came  up 
to  a  well-dressed  young  gentleman  sitting  opposite  me,  and  tore 
the  double  opera-glass  from  his  nose,  it  being  against  rule  in 
Flatz,  as  it  is  in  Dresden,  to  look  at  the  Court  with  glasses  which 
diminish  and  approximate.  I  myself  had  on  a  pair  of  spectacles, 
but  they  were  magnifiers.  It  was  impossible  for  me  to  resolve 
on  taking  them  off;  and  here  again,  I  am  afraid,  I  shall  pass  for 
a  foolhardy  person  and  a  desperado ;  so  much  only  I  reckoned 
fit,  to  look  invariably  into  my  psalm-book ;  not  once  lifting  my 
eyes  while  the  Court  was  rustling  and  entering,  thereby  to  denote 


107.  Germany  is  a  long  lofty  mountain — under  the  sea. 

144.  The  Reviewer  does  not  in  reality  employ  his  pen  for  writing ;  but  he 
burns  it,  to  awaken  weak  people  from  their  swoons,  with  the  smell ;  he  tickles 
with  it  the  throat  of  the  plagiary,  to  make  him  render  back  ;  and  he  picks  with 
it  his  own  teeth.  He  is  the  only  individual  in  the  whole  learned  lexicon  that  can 
never  exhaust  himself,  never  write  himself  out,  let  him  sit  before  the  ink-glass 
for  centuries  or  tens  of  centuries.  For  while  the  Scholar,  the  Philosopher,  and 
the  Poet,  produce  their  new  book  solely  from  new  materials  and  growth,  the  Re- 
viewer merely  lays  his  old  gage  of  taste  and  knowledge  on  a  thousand  new 
works ;  and  his  light,  in  the  ever-passing,  ever- differently-cut  glass-world  which 
*  he  elucidates,  is  still  refracted  into  new  colours. 


282 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDEICH  RICHTEE. 


that  my  glasses  were  ground  convex.  For  the  rest,  the  sermon 
was  good,  if  not  always  finely  conceived  for  a  Court-church ;  it 
admonished  the  hearers  against  innumerable  vices,  to  whose  coun- 
terparts, the  virtues,  another  preacher  might  so  readily  have  ex- 
horted us.  During  the  whole  service,  I  made  it  my  business  to 
exhibit  true  deep  reverence,  not  only  towards  God,  but  also  to- 
wards my  illustrious  Prince.  For  the  latter  reverence  I  had  my 
private  reason :  I  wished  to  stamp  this  sentiment  strongly  and 
openly  as  with  raised  letters  on  my  countenance,  and  so  give  the 
lie  to  any  malicious  imp  about  Court,  by  whom  my  contravention 
of  the  Panegyric  on  Nero,  and  my  free  German  satire  on  this  real 
tyrant  himself,  which  I  had  inserted  in  the  Fltitz  Weekly  Journal, 
might  have  been  perverted  into  a  secret  characteristic  portrait  of 
my  own  Sovereign.  We  live  in  such  times  at  present,  that  scarcely 
can  we  compose  a  pasquinade  on  the  Devil  in  Hell,  but  some 
human  Devil  on  Earth  will  apply  it  to  an  angel. 

When  the  Court  at  last  issued  from  church,  and  were  getting 
into  their  carriages,  I  kept  at  such  a  distance  that  my  face  could 
not  possibly  be  noticed,  in  case  I  had  happened  to  assume  no 
reverent  look,  but  an  indifferent  or  even  proud  one.  God  knows, 
who  has  kneaded  into  me  those  mad  desperate  fancies  and  crot- 
chets, which  perhaps  would  sit  better  on  a  Hero  Schabacker  than 
on  an  Army- chaplain  under  him.  I  cannot  here  forbear  recording 
to  you,  my  Friends,  one  of  the  maddest  among  them,  though  at 
first  it  may  throw  too  glaring  a  light  on  me.  It  was  at  my  ordi- 
nation to  be  Army  -  chaplain,  while  about  to  participate  in  the 
Sacrament,  on  the  first  day  of  Easter.  Now,  here  while  I  was 
standing,  moved  into  softness,  before  the  balustrade  of  the  altar, 
in  the  middle  of  the  whole  male  congregation, — nay,  I  perhaps 
more  deeply  moved  than  any  among  them,  since,  as  a  person 
going  to  war,  I  might  consider  myself  a  half-dead  man,  that  was 
now  partaking  in  the  last  Feast  of  Souls,  as  it  were  like  a  person 
to  be  hanged  on  the  morrow,  —  here  then,  amid  the  pathetic 
effects  of  the  organ  and  singing,  there  rose  something — were  it 
the  first  Easter- day  which  awoke  in  me  what  primitive  Christians 
called  their  Easter-laughter,  or  merely  the  contrast  between  the 


71.  The  Youth  is  singular  from  caprice,  and  takes  pleasure  in  it ;  the  Man 
is  so  from  constraint,  unintentionally,  and  feels  pain  in  it. 

198.  The  Populace  and  Cattle  grow  giddy  on  the  edge  of  no  ahyss  ;  with  tho 
Man  it  is  otherwise. 


SCHMELZLE'S  JOURNEY  TO  FLiETZ. 


283 


most  devilish  predicaments  and  the  most  holy, — in  short  there 
rose  something  in  me  (for  which  reason,  I  have  ever  since  taken 
the  part  of  every  simple  person,  who  might  ascrihe  such  things  to 
the  Devil),  and  this  something  started  the  question  :  "  Now,  could 
there  be  aught  more  diabolical  than  if  thou,  just  in  receiving  the 
Holy  Supper,  wert  madly  and  blasphemously  to  begin  laughing?"  . 
Instantly  I  took  to  wrestling  with  this  hell-dog  of  a  thought  ; 
neglected  the  most  precious  feelings,  merely  to  keep  the  dog  in 
my  eye,  and  scare  him  away ;  yet  was  forced  to  draw  back  from 
him,  exhausted  and  unsuccessful,  and  arrived  at  the  step  of  the 
altar  with  the  mournful  certainty  that  in  a  little  while  I  should, 
without  more  ado,  begin  laughing,  let  me  weep  and  moan  in- 
wardly as  I  liked.  Accordingly,  while  I  and  a  very  worthy  old 
Biirgermeister  were  bowing  down  together  before  the  long  parson, 
and  the  latter  (perhaps  kneeling  on  the  low  cushion,  I  fancied 
him  too  long)  put  the  wafer  in  my  clenched  mouth,  I  felt  all  the 
muscles  of  laughter  already  beginning  sardonically  to  contract ; 
and  these  had  not  long  acted  on  the  guiltless  integument,  till  an 
actual  smile  appeared  there ;  and  as  we  bowed  the  second  time, 
I  was  grinning  like  an  ape.  My  companion  the  Biirgermeister 
justly  expostulated  with  me,  in  a  low  voice,  as  we  walked  round 
behind  the  altar :  "  In  Heaven's  name,  are  you  an  ordained 
Preacher  of  the  Gospel,  or  a  Merry-Andrew  ?  Is  it  Satan  that 
is  laughing  out  of  you  ?" 

"Ah,  Heaven!  who  else?"  said  I;  and  this  being  over,  I 
finished  my  devotions  in  a  more  becoming  fashion. 

From  the  church  (I  now  return  to  the  Flatz  one),  I  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Tiger  Inn,  and  dined  at  the  table-dlwte,  being  at 
no  time  shy  of  encountering  men.  Previous  to  the  second  course, 
a  waiter  handed  me  an  empty  plate,  on  which,  to  my  astonish- 
ment, I  noticed  a  French  verse  scratched-in  with  a  fork,  contain- 
ing nothing  less  than  a  lampoon  on  the  Commandant  of  Flatz. 
Without  ceremony,  I  held  out  the  plate  to  the  company;  saying, 
I  had  just,  as  they  saw,  got  this  lampooning  cover  presented  to 
me,  and  must  request  them  to  bear  witness  that  I  had  nothing 


11.  The  Golden  Calf  of  Self-love  soon  waxes  to  bo  a  burning  Phalaris'  Bull, 
which  reduces  its  father  and  adorer  to  ashes. 

103.  The  male  Beau-crop  which  surrounds  the  female  Roses  and  Lilies,  must 
(if  I  rightly  comprehend  its  flatteries)  most  probably  presuppose  in  the  fair  the 
manners  of  the  Spaniards  and  Italians,  who  offer  any  valuable,  by  way  of  pre- 
sent, to  the  man  who  praises  it  excessively. 


284 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


to  do  with  the  matter.  An  officer  directly  changed  plates  with 
me.  During  the  fifth  course,  I  could  not  but  admire  the  chemico- 
medical  ignorance  of  the  company ;  for  a  hare,  out  of  which  a 
gentleman  extracted  and  exhibited  several  grains  of  shot,  that  is 
to  say,  therefore,  of  lead  alloyed  with  arsenic,  and  then  cleaned 
by  hot  vinegar,  did,  nevertheless,  by  the  spectators  (I  excepted) 
continue  to  be  pleasantly  eaten. 

In  the  course  of  our  table-talk,  one  topic  seized  me  keenly  by 
my  weak  side,  I  mean  by  my  honour.  The  law  custom  of  the 
city  happened  to  be  mentioned,  as  it  affects  natural  children ;  and 
I  learned  that  here  a  loose  girl  may  convert  any  man  she  pleases 
to  select  into  the  father  of  her  brat,  simply  by  her  oath.  "  Hor- 
rible!" said  I,  and  my  hair  stood  on  end.  "In  this  way  may 
the  worthiest  head  of  a  family,  with  a  wife  and  children,  or  a  clergy- 
man lodging  in  the  Tiger,  be  stript  of  honour  and  innocence,  by 
any  wicked  chambermaid  whom  he  may  have  seen,  or  who  may 
have  seen  him,  in  the  course  of  her  employment !" 

An  elderly  officer  observed  :  "  But  will  the  girl  swear  herself 
to  the  Devil-so  readily?" 

What  logic !  "  Or  suppose,"  continued  I,  without  answer, 
"  a  man  happened  to  be  travelling  with  that  Vienna  Locksmith, 
who  afterwards  became  a  mother,  and  was  brought  to  bed  of  a 
baby  son ;  or  with  any  disguised  Chevalier  d'Eon,  who  often 
passes  the  night  in  his  company,  whereby  the  Locksmith  or  the 
Chevalier  can  swear  to  their  private  interviews  :  no  delicate  man 
of  honour  will  in  the  end  risk  travelling  with  another ;  seeing  he 
knows  not  how  soon  the  latter  may  pull  off  his  boots,  and  pull  on 
his  women's-pumps,  and  swear  his  companion  into  fatherhood, 
and  himself  to  the  Devil !" 

Some  of  the  company,  however,  misunderstood  my  oratorical 
fire  so  much,  that  they,  sheep-wise,  gave  some  insinuations  as  if 
I  myself  were  not  strict  in  this  point,  but  lax.  By  Heaven  !  I 
no  longer  knew  what  I  was  eating  or  speaking.   Happily,  on  the 


199.  But  not  many  existing  Governments,  I  believe,  do  behead  under  pre- 
text of  trepanning ;  or  sew  (in  a  more  choice  allegory)  the  people's  lips  together, 
under  pretence  of  sewing  the  harelips  in  them. 

67.  Hospitable  Entertainer,  wouldst  thou  search  into  thy  guest?  Accom- 
pany him  to  another  Entertainer,  and  listen  to  him.  Just  so :  Wouldst  thou 
become  better  acquainted  with  Mistress  in  an  hour,  than  by  living  with  her  for 
a  month?  Accompany  her  among  her  female  friends  and  female  enemies  (if 
that  is  no  pleonasm),  and  look  at  her  1 


schmelzle's  journey  to  fl^tz. 


285 


opposite  side  of  the  table,  some  lying  story  of  a  French  defeat 
was  started  :  now,  as  I  had  read  on  the  street-corners  that  French 
and  German  Proclamation,  calling  before  the  Court  Martial  any 
one  who  had  heard  war-rumours  (disadvantageous,  namely),  with- 
out giving  notice  of  them, — I,  as  a  man  not  willing  ever  to  for- 
get himself,  had  nothing  more  prudent  to  do  in  this  case,  than 
to  withdraw  with  empty  ears,  telling  none  but  the  landlord  why. 

It  was  no  improper  time ;  for  I  had  previously  determined  to 
have  my  beard  shaven  about  half-past  four,  that  so,  towards  five 
I  might  present  myself  with  a  chin  just  polished  by  the  razor 
smoothing-iron,  and  sleek  as  wove-paper,  without  the  smallest 
root-stump  of  a  hair  left  on  it.  By  way  of  preparation,  like  Pitt 
before  Parliamentary  debates,  I  poured  a  devilish  deal  of  Pontac 
into  my  stomach,  with  true  disgust,  and  contrary  to  all  sanitary 
rules :  not  so  much  for  fronting  the  light  stranger  Barber,  as  the 
Minister  and  General  von  Schabacker,  with  whom  I  had  it  in  view 
to  exchange  perhaps  more  than  one  fiery  statement. 

The  common  Hotel  Barber  was  ushered  in  to  me  ;  but  at  first 
view  you  noticed  in  his  polygonal  zigzag  visage,  more  of  a  man 
that  would  finally  go  mad,  than  of  one  growing  wiser.  Now, 
madmen  are  a  class  of  persons  whom  I  hate  incredibly ;  and  no- 
thing can  take  me  to  see  any  madhouse,  simply  because  the  first 
maniac  among  them  may  clutch  me  in  his  giant  fists  if  he  like  ; 
and  because,  owing  to  infection,  I  cannot  be  sure  that  I  shall 
ever  get  out  again  with  the  sense  which  I  brought  in.  In  a 
general  way,  I  sit  (when  once  I  am  lathered)  in  such  a  posture 
on  my  chair  as  to  keep  both  my  hands  (the  eyes  I  fix  intently  on 
the  barbering  countenance)  lying  clenched  along  my  sides,  and 
pointed  directly  at  the  midriff  of  the  barber ;  that  so,  on  the 
smallest  ambiguity  of  movement,  I  may  dash  in  upon  him,  and 
overset  him  in  a  twinkling. 

I  scarce  know  rightly  how  it  happened  ;  but  here,  while  I  am 
anxiously  studying  the  foolish  twisted  visage  of  the  shaver,  and 


80.  In  the  summer  of  life,  men  keep  digging  and  filling  ice-pits  as  well  as 
circumstances  will  admit ;  that  so,  in  their  Winter,  they  may  have  something  in 
store  to  give  them  coolness. 

28.  It  is  impossible  for  me,  amid  the  tendril-forest  of  allusions  (even  this 
again  is  a  tendril-twig) ,  to  state  and  declare  on  the  spot  whether  all  the  Courts 
or  Heights,  the  (Bougouer)  Snowline  of  Europe,  have  ever  been  mentioned  in 
my  Writings  or  not ;  but  I  could  wish  for  information  on  the  subject,  that  if 
not,  I  may  try  to  do  it  still. 


286 


JEAN  PAUL  FKIEDRICH  RICHTEB. 


he  just  then  chanced  to  lay  his  long-whetted  weapon  a  little  too 
abruptly  against  my  bare  throat,  I  gave  him  such  a  sudden  bounce 
on  the  abdominal  viscera,  that  the  silly  varlet  had  well-nigh  sui- 
cidally slit  his  own  windpipe.  For  me,  truly,  nothing  remained 
but  to  indemnify  the  man ;  and  then,  contrary  to  my  usual  prin- 
ciples, to  tie  round  a  broad  stuffed  cravat,  by  way  of  cloak  to 
what  remained  unshorn. 

And  now  at  last  I  sallied  forth  to  the  General,  drinking  out 
the  remnant  of  the  Pontac,  as  I  crossed  the  threshold.  I  hope, 
there  were  plans  lying  ready  within  me  for  answering  rightly, 
nay  for  asking.  The  Petition  I  carried  in  my  pocket,  and  in  my 
right  hand.  In  the  left  I  had  a  duplicate  of  it.  My  fire  of  spirit 
easily  helped  over  the  living  fence  of  ministerial  obstructions ; 
and  soon  I  unexpectedly  found  myself  in  the  ante-chamber,  among 
his  most  distinguished  lackeys ;  persons,  so  far  as  I  could  see, 
not  inclined  to  change  flour  for  bran  with  any  one.  Selecting 
the  most  respectable  individual  of  the  number,  I  delivered  him 
my  paper  request,  accompanied  with  the  verbal  one  that  he  would 
hand  it  in.  He  took  it,  but  ungraciously :  I  waited  in  vain  till 
far  in  the  sixth  hour,  at  which  season  alone  the  gay  General  can 
safely  be  applied  to.  At  last  I  pitch  upon  another  lackey,  and 
repeat  my  request :  he  runs  about  seeking  his  runaway  brother, 
or  my  Petition ;  to  no  purpose,  neither  of  them  could  be  found. 
How  happy  was  it  that  in  the  midst  of  my  Pontac,  before  shav- 
ing, I  had  written  out  the  duplicate  of  this  paper ;  and  therefore 
■ — simply  on  the  principle  that  you  should  always  keep  a  second 
wooden  leg  packed  into  your  knapsack  when  you  have  the  first  on 
your  body — and  out  of  fear  that  if  the  original  petition  chanced 
to  drop  from  me  in  the  way  between  the  Tiger  and  Schabacker's, 
my  whole  journey  and  hope  would  melt  into  water — and  there- 
fore, I  say,  having  stuck  the  repeating  work  of  that  original  paper 
into  my  pocket,  I  had,  in  any  case,  something  to  hand  in,  and 
that  something  truly  a  Ditto.    I  handed  it  in. 


36.  And  so  I  should  like,  in  all  cases,  to  be  the  First,  especially  in  Begging. 
The  first  prisoner-of-war,  the  first  cripple,  the  first  man  ruined  by  burning  (like 
him  who  brings  the  first  fire-engine),  gains  the  head-subscription  and  the  heart ; 
the  next-comer  finds  nothing  but  Duty  to  address  ;  and  at  last,  in  this  melodious 
mancando  of  sympathy,  matters  sink  so  far,  that  the  last  (if  the  last  but  one 
may  at  least  have  retired  laden  with  a  rich  "  God  help  you  !")  obtains  from  the 
benignant  hand  nothing  more  than  its  fist.  And  as  in  Begging  the  first,  so  in 
Giving  I  should  like  to  be  the  last :  one  obliterates  the  other,  especially  the  last 
the  first.    So,  however,  is  the  world  ordered. 


SCHMELZLE'S  JOUHNEt  TO  Ft^ET2. 


287 


Unhappily  six  o'clock  was  already  past.  The  lackey,  how- 
ever, did  not  keep  me  long  waiting ;  but  returned  with — I  may 
say,  the  text  of  this  whole  Circular — the  almost  rude  answer 
(which  you,  my  Friends,  out  of  regard  for  me  and  Schabacker, 
will  not  divulge)  that :  ' '  In  case  I  were  the  Attila  Schmelzle  of 
Schabacker's  Kegiment,  I  might  lift  my  pigeon-liver  flag  again, 
and  fly  to  the  Devil,  as  I  did  at  Pimpelstadt."  Another  man 
would  have  dropt  dead  on  the  spot :  I,  however,  walked  quite 
stoutly  off,  answering  the  fellow:  "With  great  pleasure  indeed, 
I  fly  to  the  Devil ;  and  so  Devil  a  fly  I  care."  On  the  road  home 
I  examined  myself  whether  it  had  not  been  the  Pontac  that  spoke 
out  of  me  (though  the  very  examination  contradicted  this,  for 
Pontac  never  examines) ;  but  I  found  that  nothing  but  I,  my 
heart,  my  courage  perhaps,  had  spoken  :  and  why,  after  all,  any 
whimpering  ?  Does  not  the  patrimony  of  my  good  wife  endow 
me  better  than  ten  Catechetical  Professorships  ?  And  has  she 
not  furnished  all  the  corners  of  my  book  of  Life  with  so  many 
golden  clasps,  that  I  can  open  it  forever  without  wearing  it  ?  Let 
henhearts  cackle  and  pip  ;  I  flapped  my  pinions,  and  said  :  "Dash 
boldly  through  it,  come  what  may!"  I  felt  myself  excited  and 
exalted ;  I  fancied  Republics,  in  which  I,  as  a  hero,  might  be  at 
home ;  I  longed  to  be  in  that  noble  Grecian  time,  when  one  hero 
readily  put  up  with  bastinadoes  from  another,  and  said  :  "  Strike, 
but  hear!"  and  out  of  this  ignoble  one,  where  men  will  scarcely 
put  up  with  hard  words,  to  say  nothing  of  more.  I  painted  out 
to  my  mind  how  I  should  feel,  if,  in  happier  circumstances,  I  were 
uprooting  hollow  Thrones,  and  before  whole  nations  mounting  on 
mighty  deeds  as  on  the  Temple-steps  of  Immortality;  and  in 
gigantic  ages,  finding  quite  other  men  to  outman  and  outstrip, 
than  the  mite-populace  about  me,  or,  at  the  best,  here  and  there 
a  Yulcanello.  I  thought  and  thought,  and  grew  wilder  and  wilder, 
and  intoxicated  myself  (no  Pontac  intoxication  therefore,  which, 
you  know,  increases  more  by  continuance  than  cessation  of  drink- 
ing), and  gesticulated  openly,  as  I  put  the  question  to  myself: 
"Wilt  thou  be  a  mere  state-lapdog  ?  A  dog's-dog,  a  jpium  deside- 
rium  of  an  impium  desiderium,  an  Ex-Ex,  a  Nothing  VNothing? 
— Fire  and  Fury !"    With  this,  however,  I  dashed  down  my  hat 


136.  If  you  mount  too  high  above  your  time,  your  ears  (on  the  side  of  Fame) 
are  little  better  off  than  if  you  sink  too  deep  below  it :  in  truth,  Charles  up  in 
his  Balloon,  and  Halley  down  in  his  Diving-bell,  felt  equally  the  game  strange 
pain  in  their  ears. 


288 


JEAN  FAUL  FR1EPR1CH  RICHTER. 


into  the  mud  of  the  market.  On  lifting  and  cleaning  this  old 
servant,  I  could  not  but  perceive  how  worn  and  faded  it  was ; 
and  I  therefore  determined  instantly  to  purchase  a  new  one,  and 
carry  the  same  home  in  my  hand. 

I  accomplished  this  ;  I  bought  one  of  the  finest  cut.  Strangely 
enough,  by  this  hat,  as  if  it  had  been  a  graduation-hat,  was  my 
head  tried  and  examined,  in  the  Ziegengasse  or  Goat-gate  of 
Flatz.  For  as  General  Schabacker  came  driving  along  that  street 
in  his  carriage,  and  I  (it  need  not  be  said)  was  determined  to 
avenge  myself,  not  by  vulgar  clownishness,  but  by  courtesy,  I 
had  here  got  one  of  the  most  ticklish  problems  imaginable  to 
solve  on  the  spur  of  the  instant.  You  observe,  if  I  swung  only 
the  fine  hat  which  I  earned  in  my  hand,  and  kept  the  faded  one 
on  my  head, — I  might  have  the  appearance  of  a  perfect  clown, 
who  does  not  doff  at  all :  if,  on  the  other  hand,  I  pulled  the  old 
hat  from  my  head,  and  therewith  did  my  reverence,  then  two 
hats,  both  in  play  at  once  (let  me  swing  the  other  at  the  same 
time  or  not),  brought  my  salute  within  the  verge  of  ridicule. 
Xow  do  you,  my  Friends,  before  reading  farther,  bethink  you 
how  a  man  was  to  extricate  himself  from  such  a  plight,  without 
losing  head  !  I  think,  perhaps,  by  this  means  :  by  merely  losing 
hat.  In  one  word,  then,  I  simply  dropped  the  new  hat  from  my 
hand  into  the  mud,  to  put  myself  in  a  condition  for  taking  off  the 
old  hat  by  itself,  and  swaying  it  in  needful  courtesy,  without  any 
shade  of  ridicule. 

Arrived  at  the  Tiger, — to  avoid  misconstructions,  I  first  had 
the  glossy,  fine  and  superfine  hat  cleaned,  and  some  time  after- 
wards the  mud-hat  or  rubbish-hat. 

And  now,  weighing  my  momentous  Past  in  the  adjusting  bal- 
ance within  me,  I  walked  in  fiery  mood  to  and  fro.  The  Pontac 
must — I  know  that  there  is  no  unadulterated  liquor  here  below 
— have  been  more  than  usually  adulterated;  so  keenly  did  it 
chase  my  fancy  out  of  one  fire  into  the  other.  I  now  looked  forth 
into  a  wide  glittering  life,  in  which  I  lived  without  post,  merely 
on  money ;  and  which  I  beheld,  as  it  were,  sowed  with  the  Del- 
phic caves,  and  Zenonic  walks,  and  Muse-hills  of  all  the  Sciences, 


25.  In  youth,  like  a  blind  man  just  couched  (and  what  is  birth  but  a  couch- 
ing of  the  sight?),  you  take  the  Distant  for  the  Near,  the  starry  heaven  for  tan- 
gible room-furniture,  pictures  for  objects  ;  and.  to  the  young  man.  the  whole 
world  is  sitting  on  his  very  nose,  till  repeated  bandaging  and  unbandaging  have 
at  last  taught  him,  like  the  blind  patient,  to  estimate  Distance  and  App>aranc4. 


schmelzle's  journey  to  fl^jtz.  289 

which  I  might  now  cultivate  at  my  ease.  In  particular,  I  should 
have  it  in  my  power  to  apply  more  diligently  to  writing  Prize  - 
essays  for  Academies ;  of  which  (that  is  to  say,  of  the  Prize- 
essays)  no  author  need  ever  be  ashamed,  since,  in  all  cases,  there 
is  a  whole  crowning  Academy  to  stand  and  blush  for  the  crownee. 
And  even  if  the  Prize-marksman  does  not  hit  the  crown,  he  still 
continues  more  unknown  and  more  anonymous  (his  Device  not 
being  unsealed)  than  any  other  author,  who  indeed  can  publish 
some  nameless  Long-ear  of  a  book,  but  not  hinder  it  from  being, 
by  a  Literary  Ass-burial  (sepultura  asinina),  publicly  interred, 
in  a  short  time,  before  half  the  world. 

Only  one  thing  grieved  me  by  anticipation  ;  the  sorrow  of  my 
Berga,  for  whom,  dear  tired  wayfarer,  I  on  the  morrow  must  over- 
cloud her  arrival,  and  her  shortened  market  -  spectacle,  by  my 
negatory  intelligence.  She  would  so  gladly  (and  who  can  take  it 
ill  of  a  rich  farmer's  daughter  ?)  have  made  herself  somebody  in 
Neusattel,  and  overshone  many  a  female  dignitary  !  Every  mortal 
longs  for  his  parade-place,  and  some  earlier  living  honour  than 
the  last  honours.  Especially  so  good  a  lowly-born  housewife  as 
my  Berga,  conscious  perhaps  rather  of  her  metallic  than  of  her 
spiritual  treasure,  would  still  wish  at  banquets  to  be  mistress  of 
some  seat  or  other,  and  so  in  place  to  overtop  this  or  that  plucked 
goose  of  the  neighbourhood. 

It  is  in  this  point  of  view  that  husbands  are  so  indispensable. 
I  therefore  resolved  to  purchase  for  myself,  and  consequently  for 
her,  one  of  the  best  of  those  titles,  which  our  Courts  in  Germany 
(as  in  a  Leipzig  sale-room)  stand  offering  to  buyers,  in  all  sizes 
and  sorts,  from  Noble  and  Half-noble  down  to  Rath  or  Councillor ; 
and  once  invested  therewith,  to  reflect  from  my  own  Quarter- 
nobility  such  an  Eighth-part-nobility  on  this  true  soul,  that  many 
a  Neusattelitess  (I  hope)  shall  half  burst  with  envy,  and  say  and 
cry  :  "  Pooh,  the  stupid  farmer  thing  !  See  how  it  wabbles  and 
bridles  !  It  has  forgot  how  matters  stood  when  it  had  no  money- 
bag, and  no  Hofrath !"  For  to  the  Hofrathship  I  shall  before 
this  have  attained. 

But  in  the  cold  solitude  of  my  room,  and  the  fire  of  my  re- 


125.  In  the  long-run,  out  of  mere  fear  and  necessity,  we  shall  become  the 
warmest  cosmopolites  I  know  of ;  so  rapidly  do  ships  shoot  to  and  fro,  and,  like 
shuttles,  weave  Islands  and  Quarters  of  the  World  together.  For,  let  but  the 
political  weatherglass  fall  today  in  South  America,  tomorrow  we  in  Europe  have 
storm  and  thunder. 

VOL.  III.  U 


290 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDMCH  RICHTEB. 


membrances,  I  longed  unspeakably  for  my  Bergelchen  :  I  and  my 
heart  were  wearied  with  the  foreign  busy  day ;  no  one  here  said 
a  kind  word  to  me,  which  he  did  not  hope  to  put  in  the  bill. 
Friends  !  I  languished  for  my  friend,  whose  heart  would  pour 
out  its  blood  as  a  balsam  for  a  second  heart;  I  cursed  my  over- 
prudent  regulations,  and  wished  that,  to  have  the  good  Berga  at 
my  side,  I  had  given  up  the  stupid  houseware  to  all  thieves  and 
fires  whatsoever  :  as  I  walked  to  and  fro,  it  seemed  to  me  easier 
and  easier  to  become  all  things,  an  Exchequer-Rath,  an  Excise- 
Rath,  any  Rath  in  the  world,  and  whatever  she  required  when 
she  came. 

"  See  thou  take  thy  pleasure  in  the  town  !"  had  Bergelchen 
kept  saying  the  whole  week  through.  But  how,  without  her,  can 
I  take  any  ?  Our  tears  of  sorrow  friends  dry  up,  and  accompany 
with  their  own  :  but  our  tears  of  joy  we  find  most  readily  repeated 
in  the  eyes  of  our  wives.  Pardon  me,  good  Friends,  these  liba- 
tions of  my  sensibility  ;  I  am  but  showing  you  my  heart  and  my 
Berga.  If  I  need  an  Absolution-merchant,  the  Pontac-merchant 
is  the  man. 

First  Night  in  Flatz. 

Yet  the  wine  did  not  take  from  me  the  good  sense  to  look 
under  the  bed,  before  going  into  it,  and  examine  whether  any  one 
was  lurking  there  ;  for  example,  the  Dwarf,  or  the  Ratcatcher,  or 
the  Legations-Rath  ;  also  to  shove  the  key  under  the  latch  (which 
I  reckon  the  best  bolting  arrangement  of  all),  and  then,  by  way 
of  farther  assurance,  to  bore  my  night-screws  into  the  door,  and 
pile  all  the  chairs  in  a  heap  behind  it ;  and,  lastly,  to  keep  on 
my  breeches  and  shoes,  wishing  absolutely  to  have  no  care  upon 
my  mind. 

But  I  had  still  other  precautions  to  take  in  regard  to  sleep- 
walking.   To  me  it  has  always  been  incomprehensible  how  so 

19.  It  is  easier,  they  say,  to  climb  a  hill  when  yon  ascend  back  foremost. 
This,  perhaps,  might  admit  of  application  to  political  eminences ;  if  yon  still 
turned  towards  them  that  part  of  the  body  on  which  you  sit,  and  kept  your  face 
directed  down  to  the  people ;  all  the  while,  however,  removing  and  mounting. 

26.  Few  German  writers  are  not  original,  if  we  may  ascribe  originality  (as  is 
at  least  the  conversational  practice  of  all  people)  to  a  man,  who  merely  dishes 
out  his  own  thoughts  without  foreign  admixture.  For  as,  between  their  Memory, 
where  their  reading  or  foreign  matter  dwells,  and  their  Imagination  or  Produc- 
tive Power,  where  their  writing  or  own  peculiar  matter  originates,  a  sufficient 
space  intervenes,  and  the  boundary- stones  are  fixed-in  so  conscientiously  and 
firmly  that  nothing  foreign  may  pass  over  into  their  own,  or  inversely,  so  that 
they  may  really  read  a  hundred  works  without  losing  their  own  primitive  flavour, 


schmelzle's  journey  to  fl^tz. 


291 


many  men  can  go  to  bed,  and  lie  down  at  their  ease  there,  with- 
out reflecting  that  perhaps,  in  the  first  sleep,  they  may  get  up 
again  as  Somnambulists,  and  crawl  over  the  tops  of  roofs  and  the 
like ;  awakening  in  some  spot  where  they  may  fall  in  a  moment 
and  break  their  necks.  While  at  home,  there  is  little  risk  in  my 
sleep  :  because,  my  right  toe  being  fastened  every  night  with 
three  ells  of  tape  (I  call  it  in  jest  our  marriage-tie)  to  my  wife's 
left  hand,  I  feel  a  certainty  that,  in  case  I  should  start  up  from 
this  bed-arrest,  I  must  with  the  tether  infallibly  awaken  her,  and 
so  by  my  Berga,  as  by  my  living  bridle,  be  again  led  back  to  bed. 
But  here  in  the  Inn,  I  had  nothing  for  it  but  to  knot  myself  once 
or  twice  to  the  bed  -  foot,  that  I  might  not  wander ;  though  in 
this  way,  an  irruption  of  villains  would  have  brought  double  peril 
with  it. — Alas  !  so  dangerous  is  sleep  at  all  times,  that  every 
man,  who  is  not  lying  on  his  back  a  corpse,  must  be  on  his  guard 
lest  with  the  general  system  some  limb  or  other  also  fall  asleep ; 
in  which  case  the  sleeping  limb  (there  are  not  wanting  examples 
of  it  in  Medical  History)  may  next  morning  be  lying  ripe  for 
amputation.  For  this  reason,  I  have  myself  frequently  awakened, 
that  no  part  of  me  fall  asleep. 

Having  properly  tied  myself  to  the  bed-posts,  and  at  length 
got  under  the  coverlid,  I  now  began  to  be  dubious  about  my  Pon- 
tac  Fire-bath,  and  apprehensive  of  the  valorous  and  tumultuous 
dreams  too  likely  to  ensue ;  which,  alas,  did  actually  prove  to  be 
nothing  better  than  heroic  and  monarchic  feats,  castle-stormings, 
rock-thro  wings,  and  the  like.  This  point  also  I  am  sorry  to  see 
so  little  attended  to  in  medicine.  Medical  gentlemen,  as  well  as 
their  customers,  all  stretch  themselves  quietly  in  their  beds,  with- 
out one  among  them  considering  whether  a  furious  rage  (suppos- 
ing him  also  directly  after  to  drink  cold  water  in  his  dream),  or 
a  heart-devouring  grief,  all  which  he  may  undergo  in  vision,  does 
harm  to  life  or  not. 


or  even  altering  it, — their  individuality  may,  I  believe,  be  considered  as  secured ; 
and  their  spiritual  nourishment,  their  pancakes,  loaves,  fritters,  caviare  and 
meat-balls,  are  not  assimilated  to  their  system,  but  given  back  pure  and  un- 
altered. Often  in  my  own  mind  I  figure  such  writers  as  living  but  thousandfold 
more  artificial  Ducklings  from  Vaucanson's  Artificial  Duck  of  Wood.  For  in 
fact  they  are  not  less  cunningly  put  together  than  this  timber  Duck,  which  will 
gobble  meat,  and  apparently  void  it  again,  under  show  of  having  digested  it, 
and  derived  from  it  blood  and  juices  ;  though  the  secret  of  the  business  is,  the 
artist  has  merely  introduced  an  ingenious  compound  ejective  matter  behind,  with 
which  concoction  and  nourishment  have  nothing  to  do,  but  which  the  Duck 
illusorily  gives  forth  and  publishes  to  the  world. 


292 


JEAN  PAUL  FMEDRICH  RICHTER. 


Shortly  before  midnight,  I  awoke  from  a  heavy  dream,  to 
encounter  a  ghost -trick  much  too  ghostly  for  my  fancy.  My 
Brother-in-law,  who  manufactured  it,  deserves  for  such  vapid 
cookery  to  be  named  before  you  without  reserve,  as  the  malt- 
master  of  this  washy  brewage.  Had  suspicion  been  more  com- 
patible with  intrepidity,  I  might  perhaps,  by  his  moral  maxim 
about  this  matter,  on  the  road,  as  well  as  by  his  taking  up  the 
side  -  room,  at  the  middle  door  of  which  stood  my  couch,  have 
easily  divined  the  whole.  But  now,  on  awakening,  I  felt  myself 
blown  upon  by  a  cold  ghost-breath,  which  I  could  nowise  deduce 
from  the  distant  bolted  window ;  a  point  I  had  rightly  decided, 
for  the  Dragoon  was  producing  the  phenomenon,  through  the  key- 
hole, by  a  pair  of  bellows.  Every  sort  of  coldness,  in  the  night- 
season,  reminds  you  of  clay  -  coldness  and  spectre -coldness.  I 
summoned  my  resolution,  however,  and  abode  the  issue  :  but  now 
the  very  coverlid  began  to  get  in  motion  ;  I  pulled  it  towards  me  ; 
it  would  not  stay ;  sharply  I  sit  upright  in  my  bed,  and  cry : 
"  What  is  that  ?"  No  answer  ;  everywhere  silence  in  the  Inn ; 
the  whole  room  full  of  moonshine.  And  now  my  drawing-plaster, 
my  coverlid,  actually  rose  up,  and  let  in  the  air ;  at  which  I  felt 
like  a  wounded  man  whose  cataplasm  you  suddenly  pull  off.  In 
this  crisis,  I  made  a  bold  leap  from  this  Devil's -torus,  and,  leap- 
ing, snapped  asunder  my  somnambulist  tether.  "  Where  is  the 
silly  human  fool,"  cried  I,  "  that  dares  to  ape  the  unseen  sublime 
world  of  Spirits,  which  may,  in  the  instant,  open  before  him?" 
But  on,  above,  under  the  bed,  there  was  nothing  to  be  heard  or 
seen.  I  looked  out  of  the  window  :  everywhere  spectral  moon- 
light and  street-stillness ;  nothing  moving  except  (probably  from 
the  wind),  on  the  distant  Gallows-hill,  a  person  lately  hanged. 

Any  man  would  have  taken  it  for  self-deception  as  well  as  I : 
therefore  I  again  wrapped  myself  in  my  passive  lit  de  justice  and 
air-bed,  and  waited  with  calmness  to  see  whether  my  fright  would 
subside  or  not. 


15.  After  the  manner  of  the  fine  polished  English  folding-knives,  there  are 
now  also  folding- war-swords,  or  in  other  words — Treaties  of  Peace. 

13.  Omnibus  una  salus  Sanctis,  sed  gloria  dispar :  that  is  to  say  (as  Divines 
once  taught)  according  to  Saint  Paul,  we  have  all  the  same  Beatitude  in  Heaven, 
but  different  degrees  of  Honour.  Here,  on  Earth,  we  find  a  shadow  of  this  in 
the  writing  world;  for  the  Beatitude  of  authors  once  beatified  by  Criticism,  whe- 
ther they  be  genial,  good,  mediocre,  or  poor,  is  the  same  throughout ;  they  all 
obtain  the  same  pecuniary  Felicity,  the  same  slender  profit  But,  Heavens  !  in 
regard  to  the  degrees  of  Fame,  again,  how  far  (in  spite  of  the  same  emolument 


schmelzle's  journey  to  fl^tz. 


293 


In  a  few  minutes,  the  coverlid,  the  infernal  Faust's -mantle, 
again  began  flying  and  towing ;  also,  by  way  of  change,  the  invi- 
sible bed-maker  again  lifted  me  up.  Accursed  hour  ! — I  should 
beg  to  know  whether,  in  the  whole  of  cultivated  Europe,  there  is 
one  cultivated  or  uncultivated  man,  who,  in  a  case  of  this  kind, 
would  not  have  lighted  on  ghost- devilry  ?  I  lighted  on  it,  under 
my  piece  of  (self)  movable  property,  my  coverlid :  and  thought 
Berga  had  died  suddenly,  and  was  now,  in  spirit,  laying  hold 
of  my  bed.  However,  I  could  not  speak  to  her,  nor  as  little 
to  the  Devil,  who  might  well  be  supposed  to  have  a  hand  in  the 
game ;  but  I  turned  myself  solely  to  Heaven,  and  prayed  aloud  : 
"  To  thee  I  commit  myself;  thou  alone  heretofore  hast  cared  for 
thy  weak  servant ;  and  I  swear  that  I  will  turn  a  new  leaf," — a 
promise  which  shall  be  kept  nevertheless,  though  the  whole  was 
but  stupid  treachery  and  trick. 

My  prayer  had  no  effect  with  the  unchristian  Dragoon,  who 
now,  once  for  all,  had  got  me  prisoner  in  the  dragnet  of  a  cover- 
lid ;  and  heeded  little  whether  a  guest's  bed  were,  by  his  means, 
made  a  state-bed  and  death-bed  or  not.  He  span  out  my  nerves, 
like  gold-wire  through  smaller  and  smaller  holes,  to  utter  inani- 
tion and  evanition ;  for  the  bed-clothes  at  last  literally  marched 
off  to  the  door  of  the  room. 

Now  was  the  moment  to  rise  into  the  sublime  ;  and  to  trouble 
myself  no  longer  about  aught  here  below,  but  softly  to  devote 
myself  to  death.  "  Snatch  me  away,"  cried  I,  and,  without 
thinking,  cut  three  crosses;  "  quick,  dispatch  me,  ye  ghosts:  I 
die  more  innocent  than  thousands  of  tyrants  and  blasphemers,  to 
whom  ye  yet  appear  not,  but  to  unpolluted  me."  Here  I  heard 
a  sort  of  laugh,  either  on  the  street  or  in  the  side-room  :  at  this 
warm  human  tone,  I  suddenly  bloomed  up  again,  as  at  the  com- 
ing of  a  new  Spring,  in  every  twig  and  leaf.  Wholly  despising 
the  winged  coverlid,  which  was  not  now  to  be  picked  from  the 
door,  I  laid  myself  down  uncovered,  but  warm  and  perspiring  from 
other  causes,  and  soon  fell  asleep.    For  the  rest,  I  am  not  the 


and  sale)  will  a  Dunce,  even  in  his  lifetime,  be  put  below  a  Genius  !  Is  not  a 
shallow  writer  frequently  forgotten  in  a  single  Fair,  while  a  deep  writer,  or  even 
a  writer  of  genius,  will  blossom  through  fifty  Fairs,  and  so  may  celebrate  his 
Twenty-five  Years'  Jubilee,  before,  late  forgotten,  he  is  lowered  into  the  German 
Temple  of  Fame  ;  a  Temple  imitating  the  peculiarity  of  the  Padri  Lucchesi 
churches  in  Naples,  which  (according  to  Volkmann)  permit  burials  under  their 
roofs,  but  no  tombstone. 


294 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


least  ashamed,  in  the  face  of  all  refined  capital  cities, — though 
they  were  standing  here  at  my  hand, — that  by  this  Devil-belief 
and  Devil-address  I  have  attained  some  likeness  to  our  great 
German  Lion,  to  Luther. 

Second  Day  in  Fldtz. 

Early  in  the  morning,  I  felt  myself  awakened  by  the  well- 
known  coverlid ;  it  had  laid  itself  on  me  like  a  nightmare :  I 
gaped  up ;  quiet,  in  a  corner  of  the  room,  sat  a  red,  round,  bloom- 
ing, decorated  girl,  like  a  full-blown  tulip  in  the  freshness  of  life, 
and  gently  rustling  with  gay  ribbons  as  with  leaves. 

"  Who's  there — how  came  you  in  ?"  cried  I,  half-blind. 

"I  covered  thee  softly,  and  thought  to  let  thee  sleep,"  said 
Bergelchen ;  "I  have  walked  all  night  to  be  here  early ;  do  but 
look!" 

She  showed  me  her  boots,  the  only  remnant  of  her  travelling- 
gear,  which,  in  the  moulting  process  of  the  toilette,  she  had  not 
stript  at  the  gate  of  Flatz. 

"Is  there,"  said  I,  alarmed  at  her  coming  six  hours  sooner, 
and  the  more,  as  I  had  been  alarmed  all  night  and  was  still  so, 
at  her  mysterious  entrance, — "  is  there  some  fresh  woe  come  over 
us,  fire,  murder,  robbery  ?" 

She  answered :  "  The  old  Eat  thou  hast  chased  so  long  died 
yesterday ;  farther,  there  was  nothing  of  importance." 

"And  all  has  been  managed  rightly,  and  according  to  my 
Letter  of  Instructions,  at  home  ?"  inquired  I. 

"  Yes,  truly,"  answered  she ;  "  only  I  did  not  see  the  Letter ; 
it  is  lost ;  thou  hast  packed  it  among  thy  clothes." 

Well,  I  could  not  but  forgive  the  blooming  brave  pedestrian 
all  omissions.  Her  eye,  then  her  heart  was  bringing  fresh  cool 
morning  air  and  morning  red  into  my  sultry  hours.  And  yet, 
for  this  kind  soul,  looking  into  life  with  such  love  and  hope,  I 
must  in  a  little  while  overcloud  the  merited  Heaven  of  today, 
with  tidings  of  my  failure  in  the  Catechetical  Professorship  !  I 
dallied  and  postponed  to  the  utmost.    I  asked  how  she  had  got 


79.  Weak  and  wrong  heads  are  the  hardest  to  change ;  and  their  inward  man 
acquires  a  scanty  covering  :  thus  capons  never  moult. 

89.  In  times  of  misfortune,  the  Ancients  supported  themselves  with  Philo- 
sophy or  Christianity;  the  moderns  again  (for  example,  in  the  reign  of  Terror), 
take  to  Pleasure  ;  as  the  wounded  Buffalo,  for  bandage  and  salve,  rolls  himself 
in  the  mire. 


SCHMELZLE'S  JOURNEY  TO  FLiETZ. 


295 


in,  as  the  whole  chevaux-de-frise  barricado  of  chairs  was  still 
standing  fast  at  the  door.  She  laughed  heartily,  curtseying  in 
village  fashion,  and  said,  she  had  planned  it  with  her  brother  the 
day  before  yesterday,  knowing  my  precautions  in  locking,  that 
he  should  admit  her  into  my  room,  that  so  she  might  cunningly 
awaken  me.  And  now  bolted  the  Dragoon  with  loud  laughter 
into  the  apartment,  and  cried :  "  Slept  well,  brother?" 

In  this  wise  truly  the  whole  ghost- story  was  now  solved  and 
expounded,  as  if  by  the  pen  of  a  Biester  or  a  Hennings ;  I  in- 
stantly saw  through  the  entire  ghost-scheme,  which  our  Dragoon 
had  executed.  With  some  bitterness  I  told  him  my  conjecture, 
and  his  sister  my  story.  But  he  lied  and  laughed ;  nay,  at- 
tempted shamelessly  enough  to  palm  spectre- notions  on  me  a 
second  time,  in  open  day.  I  answered  coldly,  that  in  me  he  had 
found  the  wrong  man,  granting  even  that  I  had  some  similarity 
with  Luther,  with  Hobbes,  with  Brutus,  all  of  whom  had  seen 
and  dreaded  ghosts.  He  replied,  tearing  the  facts  away  from 
their  originating  causes :  "  All  he  could  say  was,  that  last  night 
he  had  heard  some  poor  sinner  creaking  and  lamenting  dolefully 
enough ;  and  from  this  he  had  inferred,  it  must  be  an  unhappy 
brother  set  upon  by  goblins." 

In  the  end,  his  sister's  eyes  also  were  opened  to  the  low 
character  which  he  had  tried  to  act  with  me  :  she  sharply  flew 
at  him,  pushed  him  with  both  hands  out  of  his  and  my  door, 
and  called  after  him  :  "  Wait,  thou  villain,  I  will  mind  it !" 

Then  hastily  turning  round,  she  fell  on  my  neck,  and  (at  the 
wrong  place)  into  laughter,  and  said  :  "  The  wild  fool !  But  I 
could  not  keep  my  laugh  another  minute,  and  he  was  not  to  see 
it.  Forgive  the  ninny,  thou  a  learned  man,  his  ass  pranks  :  what 
can  one  expect  ?" 

I  inquired  whether  she,  in  her  nocturnal  travelling,  had  not 
met  with  any  spectral  persons  ;  though  I  knew  that  to  her,  a  wild 
beast,  a  river,  a  half  abyss,  are  nothing.  No,  she  had  not ;  but 
the  gay-dressed  town's-people,  she  said,  had  scared  her  in  the 

181.  God  be  thanked  that  we  live  nowhere  forever  except  in  Hell  or  Heaven ; 
on  Earth  otherwise  we  should  grow  to  be  the  veriest  rascals,  and  the  World  a 
House  of  Incurables,  for  want  of  the  dog-doctor  (the  Hangman),  and  the  issue- 
cord  (on  the  Gallows),  and  the  sulphur  and  chalybeate  medicines  (on  Battle- 
fields). So  that  we  too  find  our  gigantic  moral  force  dependent  on  the  Debt  of 
Nature  which  we  have  to  pay,  exactly  as  your  politicians  (for  example,  the  Author 
of  the  New  Leviathan)  demonstrate  that  the  English  have  their  National  Debt 
to  thank  for  their  superiority. 


296 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


morning.  0  !  how  I  do  love  these  soft  Harmonica-quiverings  of 
female  fright ! 

At  last,  however,  I  was  forced  to  bite  or  cut  the  colo  quint  a- 
apple,  and  give  her  the  half  of  it ;  I  mean  the  news  of  my  re- 
jected petition  for  the  Catechetical  Professorship.  Wishing  to 
spare  this  joyful  heart  the  rudeness  of  the  whole  truth,  and  to 
subtract  something  from  a  heavy  burden,  more  fit  for  the  shoul- 
ders of  a  man,  I  began:  "  Bergelchen,  the  Professorship  affair 
is  taking  another,  though  still  a  good  enough  course  :  the  General, 
whom  may  the  Devil  and  his  Grandmother  teach  sense,  will  not 
be  taken  except  by  storm  ;  and  storm  he  shall  have,  as  certainly 
as  I  have  on  my  nightcap." 

"  Then,  thou  art  nothing  yet  ?"  inquired  she. 

"For  the  moment,  indeed,  not !"  answered  I. 

"But  before  Saturday  night?"  said  she. 

"  Not  quite,"  said  I. 

"  Then  am  I  sore  stricken,  and  could  leap  out  of  the  window," 
said  she,  and  turned  away  her  rosy  face,  to  hide  its  wet  eyes,  and 
was  silent  very  long.  Then,  with  painfully  quivering  voice,  she 
began  :  c '  Good  Christ  stand  by  me  at  Neusattel  on  Sunday,  when 
these  high-prancing  prideful  dames  look  at  me  in  church,  and  I 
grow  scarlet  for  shame  !" 

Here  in  sympathetic  woe  I  sprang  out  of  bed  to  the  dear  soul, 
over  whose  brightly  blooming  cheeks  warm  tears  were  rolling,  and 
cried  :  "  Thou  true  heart,  do  not  tear  me  in  pieces  so  !  May  I 
die,  if  yet  in  these  dog-days  I  become  not  all  and  everything  that 
thou  wishest !  Speak,  wilt  thou  be  Mining-rathin,  Build-rathin, 
Court-rathin,  War-rathin,  Chamber-rathin,  Commerce-rathin,  Le- 
gations-rathin,  or  Devil  and  his  Dam's  rathin :  I  am  here,  and 
will  buy  it,  and  be  it.  Tomorrow  I  send  riding  posts  to  Saxony 
and  Hessia,  to  Prussia  and  Eussia,  to  Friesland  and  Katzenellen- 
bogen,  and  demand  patents.  Nay,  I  will  carry  matters  farther 
than  another,  and  be  all  things  at  once,  Flachsenfingen  Court- 
rath,  Scheerau  Excise -rath,  Haarhaar  Building  -  rath,  Pestitz6 


63.  To  apprehend  danger  from  the  Education  of  the  People,  is  like  fearing 
lest  the  thunderholt  strike  into  the  house  hecause  it  has  windows ;  whereas  the 
lightning  never  comes  through  these,  but  through  their  lead  framing,  or  down 
by  the  smoke  of  the  chimney. 


6  Cities  of  Richter's  romance  kingdom.  Flachsenfingen  he  sometimes  calls 
Klein-Wien,  Little  Vienna. — Ed. 


SCHMELZLE'S  JOURNEY  TO  FLiETZ. 


297 


Chamber-rath  (for  we  have  the  cash) ;  and  thus,  alone  and  single- 
handed,  represent  with  one  podex  and  corpus  a  whole  Eath- ses- 
sion of  select  Kaths ;  and  stand,  a  complete  Legion  of  Honour, 
on  one  single  pair  of  legs :  the  like  no  man  ever  did." 

"  0  !  now  thou  art  angel-good !"  said  she,  and  gladder  tears 
rolled  down  ;  ' '  thou  shalt  counsel  me  thyself  which  are  the  finest 
Raths,  and  these  we  will  be." 

"  No,"  continued  I,  in  the  fire  of  the  moment,  "  neither  shall 
this  serve  us  :  to  me  it  is  not  enough  that  to  Mrs.  Chaplain  thou 
canst  announce  thyself  as  Building-rathin,  to  Mrs.  Town-parson 
as  Legations-rathin,  to  Mrs.  Biirgermeister  as  Court-rathin,  to 
Mrs.  Eoad-and-toll-surveyor  as  Commerce  -  ra thin,  or  how  and 
where  thou  pleasest  " 

"  Ah  !  my  own  too  good  Attelchen  !"  said  she. 

"  — But,"  continued  I,  "  I  shall  likewise  become  correspond- 
ing member  of  the  several  Learned  Societies  in  the  several  best 
capital  cities  (among  which  I  have  only  to  choose) ;  and  truly  no 
common  actual  member,  but  a  whole  honorary  member ;  then 
thee,  as  another  honorary  member,  growing  out  of  my  honorary 
membership,  I  uplift  and  exalt." 

Pardon  me,  my  Friends,  this  warm  cataplasm,  or  deception- 
balsam  for  a  wounded  breast,  whose  blood  is  so  pure  and  pre- 
cious, that  one  may  be  permitted  to  endeavour,  with  all  possible 
stanching  -  lints  and  spider-webs,  to  drive  it  back  into  the  fair 
heart,  its  home. 

But  now  came  bright  and  brightest  hours.  I  had  conquered 
Time,  I  had  conquered  myself  and  Berga :  seldom  does  a  con- 
queror, as  I  did,  bless  both  the  victorious  and  the  vanquished 
party.  Berga  called  back  her  former  Heaven,  and  pulled  off 
her  dusty  boots,  and  on  her  flowery  shoes.  Precious  morning 
beverage,  intoxicating  to  a  heart  that  loves  !  I  felt  (if  the  low 
figure  may  be  permitted)  a  double-beer  of  courage  in  me,  now 
that  I  had  one  being  more  to  protect.  In  general  it  is  my  nature 
— which  the  honourable  Premier  seems  not  to  be  fully  aware  of 
— to  grow  bolder  not  among  the  bold,  but  fastest  among  pol- 
troons, the  bad  example  acting  on  me  by  the  rule  of  contraries. 
Little  touches  may  in  this  case  shadow  forth  man  and  wife,  with- 
out casting  them  into  the  shade  :  When  the  trim  waiter  with  his 


76.  Your  economical,  preaching  Poetry,  apparently  supposes  that  a  surgical 
Stone-cutter  is  an  Artistical  one  ;  and  a  Pulpit  or  a  Sinai  a  Hill  of  the  Muses. 


298 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTEIt. 


green  silk  apron  brought  up  cracknels  for  breakfast,  and  I  told 
him  :  "  Johann,  for  two  !"  Berga  said  :  "  He  would  oblige  her  very 
much,"  and  called  him  Herr  Johann. 

Bergelchen,  more  familiar  with  rural  burghs  than  capital  cities, 
felt  a  good  deal  amazed  and  alarmed  at  the  coffee-trays,  dressing- 
tables,  paper-hangings,  sconces,  alabaster  inkholders,  with  Egyp- 
tian emblems,  as  well  as  at  the  gilt  bell-handle,  lying  ready  for  any 
one  to  pull  out  or  to  push  in.  Accordingly,  she  had  not  courage 
to  walk  through  the  hall,  with  its  lustres,  purely  because  a  whist- 
ling, whiffling  Cap-and-feather  was  gesturing  up  and  down  in  it. 
Nay,  her  poor  heart  was  like  to  fail  when  she  peeped  out  of  the 
window  at  so  many  gay  promenading  town's-people  (I  was  briskly 
whistling  a  Gascon  air  down  over  them) ;  and  thought  that  in  a 
little  while,  at  my  side,  she  must  break  into  the  middle  of  this 
dazzling  courtly  throng.  In  a  case  like  this,  reasons  are  of  less 
avail  than  examples.  I  tried  to  elevate  my  Bergelchen,  by  re- 
citing some  of  my  nocturnal  dream-feats  ;  for  example,  how,  riding 
on  a  whale's  back,  with  a  three-pronged  fork,  I  had  pierced  and 
eaten  three  eagles  ;  and  by  more  of  the  like  sort :  but  I  produced 
no  effect ;  perhaps,  because  to  the  timid  female  heart  the  battle- 
field was  presented  rather  than  the  conqueror,  the  abyss  rather 
than  the  overleaper  of  it. 

At  this  time  a  sheaf  of  newspapers  was  brought  me,  full  of 
gallant  decisive  victories.  And  though  these  happen  only  on  one 
side,  and  on  the  other  are  just  so  many  defeats,  yet  the  former 
somehow  assimilate  more  with  my  blood  than  the  latter,  and  in- 
spire me  (as  Schiller's  Robbers  used  to  do)  with  a  strange  inclina- 
tion to  lay  hold  of  some  one,  and  thrash  and  curry  him  on  the 
spot.  Unluckily  for  the  waiter,  he  had  chanced,  even  now,  like 
a  military  host,  to  stand  a  triple  bell-order  for  march,  before  he 
would  leave  his  ground  and  come  up.  "  Sir,"  began  I,  my  head 
full  of  battle-fields,  and  my  arm  of  inclination  to  baste  him ;  and 
Berga  feared  the  very  worst,  as  I  gave  her  the  well-known  anger 
and  alarm  signal,  namely,  shoved  up  my  cap  to  my  hindhead — 
"  Sir,  is  this  your  way  of  treating  guests  ?  Why  don't  you  come 
promptly?    Don't  come  so  again;  and  now  be  going,  friend!" 


115.  According  to  Smith,  the  universal  measure  of  economical  value  is  Labour. 
This  fact,  at  least  in  regard  to  spiritual  and  poetical  value,  we  Germans  had  dis- 
covered before  Smith ;  and  to  my  knowledge  we  have  always  pref erred  the  learned 
poet  to  the  poet  of  genius,  and  the  heavy  book  full  of  labour  to  the  light  one  full 
of  sport. 


schmelzle's  journey  to  fl^etz. 


299 


Although  his  retreat  was  my  victory,  I  still  kept  briskly  cannon- 
ading on  the  field  of  action,  and  fired  the  louder  (to  let  him  hear 
it),  the  more  steps  he  descended  in  his  flight.  Bergelchen, — who 
felt  quite  horrorstruck  at  my  fury,  particularly  in  a  quite  strange 
house,  and  at  a  quality  waiter  with  silk  apron, — mustered  all  her 
soft  words  against  the  wild  ones  of  a  man-of-war,  and  spoke  of 
dangers  that  might  follow.  "  Dangers,"  answered  I,  "are  just 
what  I  seek ;  but  for  a  man  there  are  none ;  in  all  cases  he  will 
either  conquer  or  evade  them,  either  show  them  front  or  back." 

I  could  scarcely  lay  aside  this  indignant  mood,  so  sweet  was  it 
to  me,  and  so  much  did  I  feel  refreshed  by  the  fire  of  rage,  and 
quickened  in  my  breast  as  by  a  benignant  stimulant.  It  belongs 
certainly  to  the  class  of  Unrecognised  Mercies  (on  which,  in 
ancient  times,  special  sermons  were  preached),  that  one  is  never 
more  completely  in  his  Heaven  and  Monplaisir  (a  pleasure-palace) 
than  while  in  the  midst  of  right  hearty  storming  and  indignation. 
Heavens  !  what  might  not  a  man  of  weight  accomplish  in  this  new 
walk  of  charity !  The  gall-bladder  is  for  us  the  chief  swimming- 
bladder  and  Montgolfier ;  and  the  filling  of  it  costs  us  nothing  but 
a  contumelious  word  or  two  from  some  bystander.  And  does  not 
the  whirlwind  Luther,  with  whom  I  nowise  compare  myself,  con- 
fess, in  his  Table-talk,  that  he  never  preached,  sung,  or  prayed 
so  well,  as  while  in  a  rage  ?  Truly,  he  was  a  man  sufficient  of 
himself  to  rouse  many  others  into  rage. 

The  whole  morning  till  noon  now  passed  in  viewing  sights, 
and  trafficking  for  wares  ;  and  indeed,  for  the  greatest  part,  in  the 
broad  street  of  our  Hotel.  Berga  needed  but  to  press  along  with 
me  into  the  market  throng ;  needed  but  to  look,  and  see  that  she 
was  decorated  more  according  to  the  fashion  than  hundreds  like 
her.  But  soon,  in  her  care  for  household  gear,  she  forgot  that  of 
dress,  and  in  the  potter-market  the  toilette -table  faded  from  her 
thoughts. 

I,  for  my  share,  full  of  true  tedium,  while  gliding  after  her 
through  her  various  marts,  with  their  long  cheapenings  and  chaf- 
ferings,  merely  acted  the  Philosopher  hid  within  me :  I  weighed 


4.  The  Hypocrite  does  not  imitate  the  old  practice,  of  cutting  fruit  by  a 
knife  poisoned  only  on  the  one  side,  and  giving  the  poisoned  side  to  the  victim, 
the  cutter  eating  the  sound  side  himself  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  so  disinterestedly 
inverts  this  practice,  that  to  others  he  shows  and  gives  the  sound  moral  half,  or 
side,  and  retains  for  himself  the  poisoned  one.  Heavens !  compared  with  such 
a  man,  how  wicked  does  the  Devil  seem ! 


300 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDKICH  KICHTEB. 


this  empty  Life,  and  the  heavy  value  which  is  put  upon  it,  and 
the  daily  anxiety  of  man  lest  it,  this  lightest  down-feather  of  the 
Earth,  fly  off,  and  feather  him,  and  take  him  with  it.  These 
thoughts,  perhaps,  I  owe  to  the  street-fry  of  boys,  who  were  turn- 
ing their  market-freedom  to  account,  by  throwing  stones  at  one 
another  all  round  me  :  for,  in  the  midst  of  this  tumult,  I  vividly 
figured  myself  to  be  a  man  who  had  never  seen  war ;  and  who, 
therefore,  never  having  experienced,  that  often  of  a  thousand  bul- 
lets not  one  will  hit,  feels  apprehensive  of  these  few  silly  stones 
lest  they  beat-in  his  nose  and  eyes.  0  !  it  is  the  battle-field  alone 
that  sows,  manures  and  nourishes  true  courage,  courage  even  for 
daily,  domestic  and  smallest  perils.  For  not  till  he  comes  from 
the  battle-field  can  a  man  both  sing  and  cannonade ;  like  the 
canary-bird,  which,  though  so  melodious,  so  timid,  so  small,  so 
tender,  so  solitary,  so  soft-feathered,  can  yet  be  trained  to  fire  off 
cannon,  though  cannon  of  smaller  calibre. 

After  dinner  (in  our  room),  we  issued  from  the  Purgatory  of 
the  market -tumult, — where  Berga,  at  every  booth,  had  something 
to  order,  and  load  her  attendant  maid  with, — into  Heaven,  into 
the  Dog  Inn,  as  the  best  Flatz  public  and  pleasure-house  without 
the  gates  is  named,  where,  in  market-time,  hundreds  turn  in,  and 
see  thousands  going  by.  On  the  way  thither,  my  little  wife,  my 
elbow-tendril,  as  it  were,  had  extracted  from  me  such  a  measure 
of  courage,  that,  while  going  through  the  Gate  (where  I,  aware  of 
the  military  order  that  you  must  not  pass  near  the  sentry,  threw 
myself  over  to  the  other  side),  she  quietly  glided  on,  close  by  the 
very  guns  and  fixed  bayonets  of  the  City  Guard.  Outside  the 
wall,  I  could  direct  her  with  my  finger,  to  the  bechained,  begrated, 
gigantic  Schabacker-Palace,  mounting  up  even  externally  on  stairs, 
where  I  last  night  had  called  and  (it  may  be)  stormed:  "I  had 
rather  take  a  peep  at  the  Giant,"  said  she,  "  and  the  Dwarf :  why 
else  are  we  under  one  roof  with  them  ?" 

In  the  pleasure-house  itself  we  found  sufficient  pleasure ;  en- 
circled, as  we  were,  with  blooming  faces  and  meadows.  In  my 
secret  heart,  I  all  along  kept  looking  down,  with  success,  on  Scha- 
backer's  refusal ;  and  till  midnight  made  myself  a  happy  day  of  it: 


67.  Individual  Minds,  nay  Political  Bodies,  are  lite  organic  bodies:  extract 
the  interior  air  from  them,  the  atmosphere  crushes  them  together ;  pnmp  off 
under  the  bell  the  exterior  resisting  air,  the  interior  inflates  and  bursts  them. 
Therefore,  let  every  State  keep  up  its  internal  and  its  external  resistance  both 
fit  once. 


schmelzle's  journey  to  fljetz. 


801 


I  had  deserved  it,  Berga  still  more.  Nevertheless,  ahout  one  in 
the  morning,  I  was  destined  to  find  a  windmill  to  tilt  with ;  a  wind- 
mill, which  truly  lays  ahout  it  with  somewhat  longer,  stronger  and 
more  numerous  arms  than  a  giant,  for  which  Don  Quixote  might 
readily  enough  have  taken  it.  On  the  market-place,  for  reasons 
more  easily  fancied  than  specified  in  words,  I  let  Berga  go  along 
some  twenty  paces  before  me ;  and  I  myself,  for  these  foresaid 
reasons,  retire  without  malice  behind  a  covered  booth,  the  tent 
most  probably  of  some  rude  trader ;  and  linger  there  a  moment 
according  to  circumstances  :  lo  !  steering  hither  with  dart  and 
spear,  comes  the  Booth-watcher,  and  coins  and  stamps  me,  on 
the  spot,  into  a  filcher  and  housebreaker  of  his  Booth  -  street ; 
though  the  simpleton  sees  nothing  but  that  I  am  standing  in  the 
corner,  and  doing  anything  but — taking.  A  sense  of  honour  with- 
out callosity  is  never  blunted  for  such  attacks.  But  how  in  the 
dead  of  night  was  a  man  of  this  kind,  who  had  nothing  in  his 
head — at  the  utmost  beer,  instead  of  brains — to  be  enlightened 
on  the  truth  of  the  matter  ? 

I  shall  not  conceal  my  perilous  resource  :  I  seized  the  fox  by 
the  tail,  as  we  say ;  in  other  words,  I  made  as  if  I  had  been 
muddled,  and  knew  not  rightly,  in  my  liquor,  what  I  was  about : 
I  therefore  mimicked  everything  I  was  master  of  in  this  depart- 
ment ;  staggered  hither  and  thither ;  splayed  out  my  feet  like  a 
dancing-master ;  got  into  zigzag  in  spite  of  all  efforts  at  the  straight 
line ;  nay,  I  knocked  my  good  head  (perhaps  one  of  the  clearest 
and  emptiest  of  the  night),  like  a  full  one,  against  real  posts. 

However,  the  Booth-bailiff,  who  probably  had  been  oftener 
drunk  than  I,  and  knew  the  symptoms  better,  or  even  felt  them 
in  himself  at  this  moment,  looked  upon  the  whole  exhibition  as 
mere  craft,  and  shouted  dreadfully:  "  Stop,  rascal;  thou  art  no 
more  drunk  than  I !  I  know  thee  of  old.  Stand,  I  say,  till  I 
speak  to  thee  !  Wouldst  have  thy  long  finger  in  the  market,  too  ? 
Stand,  dog,  or  I'll  make  thee  !" 

You  see  the  whole  nodus  of  the  matter :  I  whisked  away  zig- 
zag among  the  booths  as  fast  as  possible,  from  the  claws  of  this 


8.  In  great  Saloons,  the  real  stove  is  masked  into  a  pretty  ornamented  sham 
stove ;  so  likewise,  it  is  fit  and  pretty  that  a  virgin  Love  should  always  hide 
itself  in  an  interesting  virgin  Friendship. 

12.  Nations — unlike  rivers,  which  precipitate  their  impurities  in  level  places 
and  when  at  rest — drop  their  baseness  just  whilst  in  the  most  violent  motion  ; 
and  become  the  dirtier  the  farther  they  flow  along  through  lazy  flats. 


302 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  BICHTER. 


rude  Tosspot ;  yet  he  still  hobbled  after  me.  But  my  Teutoberga, 
who  had  heard  somewhat  of  it,  came  running  back ;  clutched  the 
tipsy  market-warder  by  the  collar,  and  said  (shrieking,  it  is  true, 
in  village- wise)  :  "  Stupid  sot,  go  sleep  the  drink  out  of  thy  head, 
or  I'll  teach  thee  !  Dost  know,  then,  whom  thou  art  speaking 
to  ?  My  husband,  Army-chaplain  Schmelzle  under  General  and 
Minister  von  Schabacker  at  Pimpelstadt,  thou  blockhead ! — Fye! 
Take  shame,  fellow!"  The  watchman  mumbled:  "Meant  no 
harm,"  and  reeled  about  his  business.  "  0  thou  Lioness  !"  said 
I,  in  the  transport  of  love,  "why  hast  thou  never  been  in  any 
deadly  peril,  that  I  might  show  thee  the  Lion  in  thy  husband  ?" 

Thus  lovingly  we  both  reached  home ;  and  perhaps  in  the 
sequel  of  this  Fair  day  might  still  have  enjoyed  a  glorious  after- 
midnight,  had  not  the  Devil  led  my  eye  to  the  ninth  volume  of 
Lichtenberg's  Works,  and  the  206th  page,  where  this  passage  oc- 
curs :  "  It  is  not  impossible  that  at  a  future  period,  our  Chemists 
may  light  on  some  means  of  suddenly  decomposing  the  Atmo- 
sphere by  a  sort  of  Ferment.  In  this  way  the  world  may  be  de- 
stroyed." Ah  !  true  indeed  !  Since  the  Earth-ball  is  lapped  up 
in  the  larger  Atmospheric  ball,  let  but  any  chemical  scoundrel,  in 
the  remotest  scoundrel-island,  say  in  New  Holland,  devise  some 
decomposing  substance  for  the  Atmosphere,  like  what  a  spark  of 
fire  would  be  for  a  powder-wagon :  in  a  few  seconds,  the  mon- 
strous devouring  world-storm  catches  me  and  you  in  Flatz  by 
the  throat ;  my  breathing,  and  the  like,  in  this  choke-air  is  over, 
and  the  whole  game  ended  !  The  Earth  becomes  a  boundless 
gallows,  where  the  very  cattle  are  hanged  :  worm -powder,  and 
bug -liquor,  Bradly  ant -ploughs,  and  rat -poison,  and  wolf- traps 
are,  in  this  universal  world-trap  and  world-poison,  no  longer  spe- 
cially needful;  and  the  Devil  takes  the  whole,  in  the  Bartholomew- 
night,  when  this  cursed  "  Ferment"  is  invented. 

From  the  true  soul,  however,  I  concealed  these  deadly  Night 
Thoughts  ;  seeing  she  would  either  painfully  have  sympathised  in 


28.  When  Nature  takes  the  huge  old  Earth-round,  the  Earth-loaf,  and  kneads 
it  up  again,  for  the  purpose  of  introducing  under  this  pie-crust  new  stuffing  and 
Dwarfs, — she  then,  for  most  part,  as  a  mother  when  baking  will  do  to  her  daugh- 
ters, gives  in  jest  a  little  fraction  of  the  dough  (two  or  three  thousand  square 
leagues  of  such  dough  are  enough  for  a  child)  to  some  Poetical  or  Philosophical, 
or  Legislative  polisher,  that  so  the  little  elf  may  have  something  to  be  shaping 
and  manufacturing  beside  its  mother.  And  when  the  other  young  ones  get  a 
taste  of  sisterkin's  baking,  they  all  clap  hands,  and  cry:  "Aha,  Mother!  canst 
bake  like  Suky  here  ?" 


schmelzle's  journey  to  flmtz. 


303 


them,  or  else  mirthfully  laughed  at  them.  I  merely  gave  orders 
that  next  morning  (Saturday)  she  was  to  be  standing  booted  and 
ready,  at  the  outset  of  the  returning  coach  ;  if  so  were  she  would 
have  me  speedily  fulfil  her  wishes  in  regard  to  that  stock  of 
Bathships  which  lay  so  near  her  heart.  She  rejoiced  in  my 
purpose,  gladly  surrendering  the  market  for  such  prospects.  I 
too  slept  sound,  my  great  toe  tied  to  her  finger,  the  whole  night 
through. 

The  Dragoon,  next  morning,  twitched  me  by  the  ear,  and 
secretly  whispered  into  it  that  he  had  a  pleasant  fairing  to  give 
his  sister ;  and  so  would  ride  off  somewhat  early,  on  the  nag 
he  had  yesterday  purchased  of  the  horse-dealer.  I  thanked  him 
beforehand. 

At  the  appointed  hour,  all  gaily  started  from  the  Staple,  I 
excepted ;  for  I  still  retained,  even  in  the  fairest  daylight,  that 
nocturnal  Devil's -Ferment  and  Decomposition  (of  my  cerebral 
globe  as  well  as  of  the  Earth-globe)  fermenting  in  my  head ;  a 
proof  that  the  night  had  not  affected  me,  or  exaggerated  my  fear. 
The  Blind  Passenger,  whom  I  liked  so  ill,  also  mounted  along 
with  us,  and  looked  at  me  as  usual,  but  without  effect ;  for  on 
this  occasion,  when  the  destruction  not  of  myself  only,  but  of 
worlds,  was  occupying  my  thoughts,  the  Passenger  was  nothing 
to  me  but  a  joke  and  a  show :  as  a  man,  while  his  leg  is  being 
sawed  off,  does  not  feel  the  throbbing  of  his  heart ;  or  amid  the 
humming  of  cannon,  does  not  guard  himself  from  that  of  wasps  ; 
so  to  me  any  Passenger,  with  all  the  fire-brands  he  might  throw 
into  my  near  or  distant  Future,  could  appear  but  ludicrous,  at  a 
time  when  I  was  reflecting  that  the  "  Ferment"  might,  even  in 
my  journey  between  Flatz  and  Neusattel,  be,  by  some  American 
or  European  man  of  science,  quite  guiltlessly  experimenting  and 
decomposing,  hit  upon  by  accident  and  let  loose.  The  question, 
nay  prize-question  now,  however,  were  this  :  "In  how  far,  since 
Lichtenberg's  threatening,  it  may  not  appear  world  -  murderous 
and  self-murderous,  if  enlightened  Potentates  of  chemical  nations 
do  not  enjoin  it  on  their  chemical  subjects,  who  in  their  decom- 
positions and  separations  may  so  easily  separate  the  soul  from 
their  body,  and  unite  Heaven  with  Earth, — not  in  future  to 
make  any  other  chemical  experiments  than  those  already  made, 
which  hitherto  have  profited  the  State  rather  than  harmed  it?" 

Unfortunately,  I  continued  sunk  in  this  Domsday  of  the  Fer- 
ment with  all  my  thoughts  and  meditations,  without,  in  the  whole 


804 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDMCH  RICHTER. 


course  of  our  return  from  Flatz  to  Neusattel,  suffering  or  observing 
anything,  except  that  I  actually  arrived  there,  and  at  the  same 
time  saw  the  Blind  Passenger  once  more  go  his  ways. 

My  Bergelchen  alone  had  I  constantly  looked  at  by  the  road, 
partly  that  I  might  still  see  her,  so  long  as  life  and  eyes  endured ; 
partly  that,  even  at  the  smallest  danger  to  her,  be  it  a  great,  or 
even  all-over-sweeping  Deluge  and  World' s-ddoni,  I  might  die,  if 
not  for  her,  at  least  by  her,  and  so  united  with  that  stanch  true 
heart,  cast  away  a  plagued  and  plaguing  life,  in  which,  at  any 
rate,  not  half  of  my  wishes  for  her  have  been  fulfilled. 

So  then  were  my  Journey  over, — crowned  with  some  Histo- 
riolce ;  and  in  time  coming,  perhaps,  still  more  rewarded  through 
you,  ye  Friends  about  Flatz,  if  in  these  pages  you  shall  find  any 
well-ground  pruning-knives,  whereby  you  may  more  readily  out- 
root  the  weedy  tangle  of  Lies,  which  for  the  present  excludes  me 
from  the  gallant  Schabacker  : — Only  this  cursed  Ferment  still 
sits  in  my  head.  Farewell  then,  so  long  as  there  are  Atmo- 
spheres left  us  to  breathe.  I  wish  I  had  that  Ferment  out  of  my 
head. 

Yours  always, 

Attila  Schmelzle. 

P.S. — My  Brother-in-law  has  kept  his  promise  well,  and 
Berga  is  dancing.    Particulars  in  my  next ! 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS 


FIXLEIN, 


DOWN  TO  OUE  OWN  TIMES; 
EXTRACTED  FROM 

FIFTEEN  LETTER-BOXES  BY  JEAN  PAUL. 


LETTER  TO  MY  FRIENDS, 

INSTEAD  OF  PKEFACE. 

Merchants,  Authors,  young  Ladies  and  Quakers,  call  all  persons,  with  whom 
they  have  any  business,  Friends  ;  and  my  readers  accordingly  are  my  table  and 
college  Friends.  Now,  at  this  time,  I  am  about  presenting  so  many  hundred 
Friends  with  just  as  many  hundred  gratis  copies  ;  and  my  Bookseller  has  orders 
to  supply  each  on  request,  after  the  Fair,  with  his  copy — in  return  for  a  trifling 
consideration  and  don  gratuit  to  printers,  pressmen  and  other  such  persons.  But 
as  I  could  not,  like  the  French  authors,  send  the  whole  Edition  to  the  binder,  the 
blank  leaf  in  front  was  necessarily  wanting ;  and  thus  to  write  a  complimentary 
word  or  two  upon  it  was  out  of  my  power.  I  have  therefore  caused  a  few  white 
leaves  to  be  inserted  directly  after  the  title-page  :  on  these  we  are  now  printing. 

My  Book  contains  the  Life  of  a  Schoolmaster,  extracted  and  compiled  from 
various  public  and  private  documents.  With  this  Biography,  dear  Friends,  it  is 
the  purpose  of  the  Author  not  so  much  to  procure  you  a  pleasure,  as  to  teach  you 
how  to  enjoy  one.  In  truth,  King  Xerxes  should  have  offered  his  prize-medals 
not  for  the  invention  of  new  pleasures,  but  for  a  good  methodology  and  directory 
to  use  the  old  ones. 

Of  ways  for  becoming  happier  (not  happy)  I  could  never  inquire  out  more 
than  three.  The  first,  rather  an  elevated  road,  is  this  :  To  soar  away  so  far 
above  the  clouds  of  life,  that  you  see  the  whole  external  world,  with  its  wolf- 
dens,  charnel-houses  and  thunder-rods,  lying  far  down  beneath  you,  shrunk  into 
a  little  child's  garden.  The  second  is :  Simply  to  sink  down  into  this  little  gar- 
den ;  and  there  to  nestle  yourself  so  snugly,  so  homewise,  in  some  furrow,  that 
in  looking  out  from  your  warm  lark-nest,  you  likewise  can  discern  no  wolf-dens, 
charnel-houses  or  thunder-rods,  but  only  blades  and  ears,  every  one  of  which,  for 
the  nest-bird,  is  a  tree,  and  a  sun-screen,  and  rain-screen.  The  third,  finally, 
which  I  look  upon  as  the  hardest  and  cunningest,  is  that  of  alternating  between 
the  other  two. 

YOL.  in.  X 


806 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


This  I  shall  now  satisfactorily  expound  to  men  at  large. 

The  Hero,  the  Reformer,  your  Brutus,  your  Howard,  your  Republican,  ho 
whom  civic  storm,  or  genius,  poetic  storm,  impels  ;  in  short,  every  mortal  with  a 
great  Purpose,  or  even  a  perennial  Passion  (were  it  but  that  of  writing  the  largest 
folios),  all  these  men  fence  themselves  in  by  their  internal  world  against  the 
frosts  and  heats  of  the  external,  as  the  madman  in  a  worse  sense  does :  every 
fixed  idea,  such  as  rules  every  genius,  every  enthusiast,  at  least  periodically, 
separates  and  elevates  a  man  above  the  bed  and  board  of  this  Earth,  above  its 
Dog's-grottoes,  buckthorns  and  Devil's-walls ;  like  the  Bird  of  Paradise,  he  slum- 
bers flying ;  and  on  his  outspread  pinions,  oversleeps  unconsciously  the  earth- 
quakes and  conflagrations  of  Life,  in  his  long  fair  dream  of  his  ideal  Motherland. 
— Alas  !  to  few  is  this  dream  granted ;  and  these  few  are  so  often  awakened  by 
Flying  Dogs  I1 

This  skyward  track,  however,  is  fit  only  for  the  winged  portion  of  the  human 
species,  for  the  smallest.  What  can  it  profit  poor  quill-driving  brethren,  whose 
souls  have  not  even  wing-shells,  to  say  nothing  of  wings  ?  Or  these  tethered 
persons  with  the  best  back,  breast  and  neck  fins,  who  float  motionless  in  the 
wicker  Fish-box  of  the  State,  and  are  not  allowed  to  swim,  because  the  Box  or 
State,  long  ago  tied  to  the  shore,  itself  swims  in  the  name  of  the  Fishes  ?  To 
the  whole  standing  and  writing  host  of  heavy-laden  State-domestics,  Purveyors, 
Clerks  of  all  departments,  and  all  the  lobsters  packed  together  heels  over  head 
into  the  Lobster-basket  of  the  Government  office-rooms,  and  for  refreshment, 
sprinkled  over  with  a  few  nettles  ;  to  these  persons,  what  way  of  becoming  happy 
here,  can  I  possibly  point  out  ? 

My  second  merely  ;  and  that  is  as  follows  :  To  take  a  compound  microscope, 
and  with  it  to  discover,  and  convince  themselves,  that  their  drop  of  Burgundy  is 
properly  a  Red  Sea,  that  butterfly-dust  is  peacock-feathers,  mouldiness  a  flowery- 
field,  and  sand  a  heap  of  jewels.  These  microscopic  recreations  are  more  lasting 
than  all  costly  watering-place  recreations. — But  I  must  explain  these  metaphors 
by  new  ones.  The  purpose,  for  which  I  have  sent  Fixlein's  Life  into  the  Messrs. 
Liibeks'  Warehouse,  is  simply  that  in  this  same  Life, — therefore  in  this  Preface 
it  is  less  needful, — I  may  show  to  the  whole  Earth  that  we  ought  to  value  little 
joys  more  than  great  ones,  the  nightgown  more  than  the  dresscoat ;  that  Plutus' 
heaps  are  worth  less  than  his  handfuls,  the  plum  than  the  penny  for  a  rainy 
day ;  and  that  not  great,  but  little  good-haps  can  make  us  happy. — Can  I  accom- 
plish this,  I  shall,  through  means  of  my  Book,  bring  up  for  Posterity,  a  race  of 
men  finding  refreshment  in  all  things ;  in  the  warmth  of  their  rooms  and  of 
their  nightcaps  ;  in  their  pillows ;  in  the  three  High  Festivals ;  in  mere  Apostles' 
days ;  in  the  Evening  Moral  Tales  of  their  wives,  when  these  gentle  persons 
have  been  forth  as  ambassadresses  visiting  some  Dowager  Residence,  whither 
the  husband  could  not  be  persuaded;  in  the  bloodletting-day  of  these  their  news- 
bringers  ;  in  the  day  of  slaughtering,  salting,  potting  against  the  rigour  of  grim 
winter  ;  and  in  all  such  days.  You  perceive,  my  drift  is  that  man  must  become 
a  little  Tailor-bird,  which,  not  amid  the  crashing  boughs  of  the  storm-tost,  roar- 


1  So  are  the  Vampires  called. 


LETTER  TO  MY  FRIENDS. 


807 


Ing,  immeasurable  tree  of  Life,  but  on  one  of  its  leaves,  sews  itself  a  nest  toge- 
ther, and  there  lies  snug.  The  most  essential  sermon  one  could  preach  to  our 
century,  were  a  sermon  on  the  duty  of  staying  at  home. 

The  third  skyward  road  is  the  alternation  between  the  other  two.  The  fore- 
going second  way  is  not  good  enough  for  man,  who  here  on  Earth  should  take 
into  his  hand  not  the  Sickle  only,  but  also  the  Plough.  The  first  is  too  good  for 
him.  He  has  not  always  the  force,  like  Rugendas,  in  the  midst  of  the  Battle  to 
compose  Battle-pieces  ;  and,  like  Backhuysen  in  the  Shipwreck,  to  clutch  at  no 
board  but  the  drawing-board  to  paint  it  on.  And  then  his  pains  are  not  less 
lasting  than  his  fatigues.  Still  oftener  is  Strength  denied  its  Arena  :  it  is  but 
the  smallest  portion  of  life  that,  to  a  working  soul,  offers  Alps,  Revolutions, 
Rhine-falls,  Worms  Diets,  and  Wars  with  Xerxes  ;  and  for  the  whole  it  is  better 
so  :  the  longer  portion  of  life  is  a  field  beaten  flat  as  a  threshing-floor,  without 
lofty  Gothard  Mountains ;  often  it  is  a  tedious  ice-field,  without  a  single  glacier 
tinged  with  dawn. 

But  even  by  walking,  a  man  rests  and  recovers  himself  for  climbing ;  by  little 
joys  and  duties,  for  great.  The  victorious  Dictator  must  contrive  to  plough  down 
his  battle  Mars-field  into  a  flax  and  carrot  field ;  to  transform  his  theatre  of  war 
into  a  parlour  theatre,  on  whLh  his  children  may  enact  some  good  pieces  from 
the  Children's  Friend.  Can  he  accomplish  this,  can  he  turn  so  softly  from  the 
path  of  poetical  happiness  into  that  of  household  happiness, — then  is  he  little 
different  from  myself,  who  even  now,  though  modesty  might  forbid  me  to  disclose 
it — who  even  now,  I  say,  amid  the  creation  of  this  Letter,  have  been  enabled  to 
reflect,  that  when  it  is  done,  so  also  will  the  Roses  and  Elder-berries  of  pastry 
be  done,  which  a  sure  hand  is  seething  in  butter  for  the  Author  of  this  Work. 

As  I  purpose  appending  to  this  Letter  a  Postscript  (at  the  end  of  the  Book),  I 
reserve  somewhat  which  I  had  to  say  about  the  Third2  half-satirical  half -philo- 
sophical part  of  the  Work,  till  that  opportunity. 

Here,  out  of  respect  for  the  rights  of  a  Letter,  the  Author  drops  his  half 
anonymity,3  and  for  the  first  time  subscribes  himself  with  his  whole  true  name, 

Jean  Paul  Eriedkich  Richtee. 

Hof  in  Voigtland,  29th  June  1795. 


2  Fixlein  stands  in  the  middle  of  the  volume ;  preceded  by  Finer  Mustheil 
fur  Mddchen  (A  Jelly-course  for  Young  Ladies)  ;  and  followed  by  Some  Jus  de 
Tablette  for  Men.  A  small  portion  of  the  Preface  relating  to  the  first  I  have 
already  omitted.    Neither  of  the  two  has  the  smallest  relation  to  Fixlein. — Ed. 

3  J.  P.  H.,  Jean  Paul  Hasus,  Jean  Paul,  &c.  have  in  succession  been  Richter's 
signatures.  At  present  even,  his  German  designation,  either  in  writing  or  speech, 
is  never  Bidder,  but  Jean  Paul. — En. 


308 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN 


FIRST  LETTER-BOX. 

Dog-days  Vacation.    Visits.    An  Indigent  of  Quality. 

Egidius  Zebed^eus  Fixlein  had  just  for  eight  days  been  Quintus,4 
and  fairly  commenced  his  teaching  duties,  when  Fortune  tabled 
out  for  him  four  refreshing  courses  and  collations,  besprinkled 
with  flowers  and  sugar.  These  were  the  four  canicular  weeks.  I 
could  find  in  my  heart,  at  this  hour,  to  pat  the  cranium  of  that 
good-man  who  invented  the  Dog-days  Vacation :  I  never  go  to 
walk  in  that  season,  without  thinking  how  a  thousand  down- 
pressed  pedagogic  persons  are  now  erecting  themselves  in  the 
open  air ;  and  the  stiff  knapsack  is  lying  unbuckled  at  their  feet, 
and  they  can  seek  whatsoever  their  soul  desires ;  butterflies, — or 
roots  of  numbers, — or  roots  of  words, — or  herbs, — or  their  native 
villages. 

The  last  did  our  Fixlein.  He  moved  not,  however,  till  Sun- 
day,— for  you  like  to  know  how  holidays  taste  in  the  city ;  and 
then,  in  company  with  his  Shock  and  a  Quintaner,  or  Fifth -Form 
boy,  who  carried  his  Green  nightgown,  he  issued  through  the  gate 
in  the  morning.  The  dew  was  still  lying ;  and  as  he  reached  the 
back  of  the  gardens,  the  children  of  the  Orphan  Hospital  were 
uplifting  with  clear  voices  their  morning  hymn.  The  city  was 
Flachsenfingen,  the  village  Hukelum,  the  dog  Schil,  and  the  year 
of  Grace  1791. 

4  For  understanding  many  little  hints  which  occur  in  this  Life  of  Fixlein,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  hear  in  mind  the  following  particulars  :  A  German  Gymna- 
sium, in  its  complete  state,  appears  to  include  eight  Masters  ;  Rector,  Conrector, 
Suhrector,  Quintus,  Quartus,  Tertius,  &c,  to  the  first  or  lowest.  The  forms,  or 
classes,  again,  are  arranged  in  an  inverse  order ;  the  Primaner  (boys  of  the 
Prima,  or  first  form)  being  the  most  advanced,  and  taught  by  the  Rector ;  the 
Sccundaner,  by  the  Conrector,  &c,  and  therefore  the  Quartaner  by  the  Quintus. 
In  many  cases,  it  would  seem,  the  number  of  Teachers  is  only  six ;  but,  in  this 
Flachsenfingen  Gymnasium,  we  have  express  evidence  that  there  was  no  curtail- 
ment.— Ed. 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


309 


"Manikin,"  said  he  to  the  Quintaner,  for  he  liked  to  speak 
as  Love,  children,  and  the  people  of  Vienna  do,  in  diminutives, 
"Manikin,  give  me  the  bundle  to  the  village:  run  about,  and 
seek  thee  a  little  bird,  as  thou  art  thyself,  and  so  have  something 
to  pet  too  in  vacation-time."  For  the  manikin  was  at  once  his 
page,  lackey,  room-comrade,  train-bearer  and  gentleman-in-wait- 
ing ;  and  the  Shock  also  was  his  manikin. 

He  stept  slowly  along,  through  the  crisped  cole-beds,  over- 
laid with  coloured  beads  of  dew ;  and  looked  at  the  bushes,  out  of 
which,  when  the  morning  wind  bent  them  asunder,  there  seemed 
to  start  a  flight  of  jewel- colibri,  so  brightly  did  they  glitter.  From 
time  to  time  he  drew  the  bell-rope  of  his — whistle,  that  the  mani- 
kin might  not  skip  away  too  far ;  and  he  shortened  his  league 
and  half  of  road,  by  measuring  it  not  in  leagues,  but  in  villages. 
It  is  more  pleasant  for  pedestrians — for  geographers  it  is  not — 
to  count  by  wersts  than  by  miles.  In  walking,  our  Quintus  far- 
thermore  got  by  heart  the  few  fields,  on  which  the  grain  was 
already  reaped. 

But  now  roam  slower,  Fixlein,  through  his  Lordship's  garden 
of  Hukelum ;  not,  indeed,  lest  thy  coat  sweep  away  any  tulip- 
stamina,  but  that  thy  good  mother  may  have  time  to  lay  her  Cu- 
pid's-band  of  black  taffeta  about  her  smooth  brow,  i  am  grieved 
to  think  my  fair  readers  take  it  ill  of  her,  that  she  means  first  to 
iron  this  same  band :  they  cannot  know  that  she  has  no  maid ; 
and  that  today  the  whole  Preceptorial  dinner — the  money  purvey- 
ances the  guest  has  made  over  to  her  three  days  before — is  to  be 
arranged  and  prepared  by  herself,  without  the  aid  of  any  Mistress 
of  the  Household  whatever ;  for  indeed  she  belongs  to  the  Tiers 
Etat,  being  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  gardener's  widow. 

You  can  figure  how  this  true,  warm-hearted  mother  may  have 
lain  in  wait  all  morning  for  her  Schoolman,  whom  she  loved  as 
the  apple  of  her  eye ;  since,  on  the  whole  populous  Earth,  she 
had  not  (her  first  son,  as  well  as  her  husband,  was  dead)  any 
other  for  her  soul,  which  indeed  overflowed  with  love ;  not  any 
other  but  her  Zebedaus.  Could  she  ever  tell  you  aught  about 
him,  I  mean  aught  joyful,  without  ten  times  wiping  her  eyes  ? 
Nay,  did  she  not  once  divide  her  solitary  Kirmes  (or  Churchale) 
cake  between  two  mendicant  students,  because  she  thought  Hea- 
ven would  punish  her  for  so  feasting,  while  her  boy  in  Leipzig 
had  nothing  to  feast  on,  and  must  pass  the  cake-garden  like  other 
gardens,  merely  smelling  at  it  ? 


310 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


"Dickens  !  Thou  already,  Zebedaus  !"  said  the  mother,  giv- 
ing an  embarrassed  smile,  to  keep  from  weeping,  as  the  son,  who 
had  ducked  past  the  window,  and  crossed  the  grassy  threshold 
without  knocking,  suddenly  entered.  For  joy  she  forgot  to  put 
the  heater  into  the  smoothing-iron,  as  her  illustrious  scholar, 
amid  the  loud  boiling  of  the  soup,  tenderly  kissed  her  brow,  and 
even  said  Mamma ;  a  name  which  lighted  on  her  breast  like 
downy  silk.  All  the  windows  were  open ;  and  the  garden,  with 
its  flower-essences,  and  bird-music,  and  butterfly-collections,  was 
almost  half  within  the  room :  but  I  suppose  I  have  not  yet  men- 
tioned that  the  little  garden-house,  rather  a  chamber  than  a  house, 
was  situated  on  the  western  cape  of  the  Castle  garden.  The 
owner  had  graciously  allowed  the  widow  to  retain  this  dowager- 
mansion  ;  as  indeed  the  mansion  would  otherwise  have  stood 
empty,  for  he  now  kept  no  gardener. 

But  Fixlein,  in  spite  of  his  joy,  could  not  stay  long  with  her ; 
being  bound  for  the  Church,  which,  to  his  spiritual  appetite,  was 
at  all  times  a  king's  kitchen ;  a  mother's.  A  sermon  pleased 
him  simply  because  it  was  a  sermon,  and  because  he  himself  had 
once  preached  one.  The  mother  was  contented  he  should  go  : 
these  good  women  think  they  enjoy  their  guests,  if  they  can  only 
give  them  aught  to  enjoy. 

In  the  choir,  this  Free-haven  and  Ethnic  Forecourt  of  stranger 
church-goers,  he  smiled  on  all  parishioners ;  and,  as  in  his  child- 
hood, standing  under  the  wooden  wing  of  an  archangel,  he  looked 
down  on  the  coifed  parterre.  His  young  years  now  enclosed  him 
like  children  in  their  smiling  circle ;  and  a  long  garland  wound 
itself  in  rings  among  them,  and  by  fits  they  plucked  flowers  from 
it,  and  threw  them  in  his  face :  Was  it  not  old  Senior  Astman 
that  stood  there  on  the  pulpit  Parnassus,  the  man  by  whom  he 
had  been  so  often  flogged,  while  acquiring  Greek  with  him  from 
a  grammar  written  in  Latin,  which  he  could  not  explain,  yet  was 
forced  to  walk  by  the  light  of?  Stood  there  not  behind  the 
pulpit-stairs  the  sacristy-cabin,  and  in  this  was  there  not  a  church- 
library  of  consequence — no  schoolboy  could  have  buckled  it  wholly 
in  his  book- strap — lying  under  the  minever  cover  of  pastil  dust  ? 
And  did  it  not  consist  of  the  Polyglott  in  folio,  which  he,  spurred 
on  by  Pfeiffer's  Critica  Sacra,  had  turned  up  leaf  by  leaf,  in  his 
early  years,  excerpting  therefrom  the  literce  inversce,  majusculce, 
minuscules,  and  so  forth,  with  an  immensity  of  toil  ?  And  could 
he  not  at  present,  the  sooner  the  more  readily,  have  wished  to 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


311 


cast  this  alphabetic  soft-fodder  into  the  Hebrew  letter -trough, 
whereto  your  Oriental  Rhizophagi  (Root-eaters)  are  tied,  espe- 
cially as  here  they  get  so  little  vowel  hard-fodder  to  keep  them 
in  heart? — Stood  there  not  close  by  him  the  organ-stool,  the 
throne  to  which,  every  Apostle- day,  the  Schoolmaster  had  by 
three  nods  elevated  him,  thence  to  fetch  down  the  sacred  hyssop, 
the  sprinkler  of  the  Church  ? 

My  readers  themselves  will  gather  spirits  when  they  now  hear 
that  our  Quintus,  during  the  outshaking  of  the  poor-bag,  was 
invited  by  the  Senior  to  come  over  in  the  afternoon ;  and  to  them, 
it  will  be  little  less  gratifying  than  if  he  had  invited  themselves. 
But  what  will  they  say,  when  they  get  home  with  him  to  mother 
and  dinner-table,  both  already  clad  in  their  white  Sunday  dress  ; 
and  behold  the  large  cake  which  Fraulein  Thiennette  (Stephanie) 
has  rolled  from  her  peel  ?  In  the  first  place,  however,  they  will 
wish  to  know  who  she  is  ? 

She  is, — for  if  (according  to  Lessing)  in  the  very  excellence 
of  the  Iliad,  we  neglect  the  personalities  of  its  author ;  the  same 
thing  will  apply  to  the  fate  of  several  authors,  for  instance  to  my 
own ;  but  an  authoress  of  cakes  must  not  be  forgotten  in  the  ex- 
cellence of  her  baking, — Thiennette  is  a  poor,  indigent,  insolvent 
young  lady ;  has  not  much,  except  years,  of  which  she  counts 
five-and-twenty ;  no  near  relations  living  now ;  no  acquirements 
(for  in  literature  she  does  not  even  know  Werter)  except  econo- 
mical ;  reads  no  books,  not  even  mine  ;  inhabits,  that  is,  watches 
like  a  wardeness,  quite  alone,  the  thirteen  void  disfurnished  cham- 
bers of  the  Castle  of  Hukelum,  which  belongs  to  the  Dragoon 
Rittmeister  Auf  hammer,  at  present  resident  in  his  other  mansion 
of  Schadeck :  on  occasion,  she  commands  and  feeds  his  soccagers 
and  handmaids  ;  and  can  write  herself  By  the  grace  of  God, — 
which,  in  the  thirteenth  century,  the  country  nobles  did  as  well  as 
princes, — for  she  lives  by  the  grace  of  man,  at  least  of  woman, 
the  Lady  Rittmeisterinn  Auf  hammer's  grace,  who,  at  all  times, 
blesses  those  vassals  whom  her  husband  curses.  But,  in  the 
breast  of  the  orphaned  Thiennette  lay  a  sugared  marchpane  heart, 
which,  for  very  love,  you  could  have  devoured  :  her  fate  was  hard, 
but  her  soul  was  soft ;  she  was  modest,  courteous  and  timid,  but 
too  much  so ;  —  cheerfully  and  coldly  she  received  the  most  cut- 
ting humiliations  in  Schadeck,  and  felt  no  pain,  and  not  till  some 
days  after  did  she  see  it  all  clearly,  and  then  these  cuts  began 
sharply  to  bleed,  and  she  wept  in  her  loneliness  over  her  lot. 


312 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


It  is  hard  for  me  to  give  a  light  tone,  after  this  deep  one, 
and  to  add,  that  Fixlein  had  been  almost  brought  up  beside  her, 
and  that  she,  his  school-moiety  over  with  the  Senior,  while  the 
latter  was  training  him  for  the  dignities  of  the  Third  Form,  had 
learned  the  Verba  Anomala  along  with  him. 

The  Achilles' -shield  of  the  cake,  jagged  and  embossed  with 
carved  work  of  brown  scales,  was  whirling  round  in  the  Quintus 
like  a  swing- wheel  of  hungry  and  thankful  ideas.  Of  that  philo- 
sophy which  despises  eating,  and  of  that  high  breeding  which 
wastes  it,  he  had  not  so  much  about  him  as  belongs  to  the  un- 
gratefulness of  such  cultivated  persons ;  but  for  his  platter  of 
meat,  for  his  dinner  of  herbs,  he  could  never  give  thanks  enough. 

Innocent  and  contented,  the  quadruple  dinner-party, — for  the 
Shock  with  his  cover  under  the  stove  cannot  be  omitted, — now 
began  their  Feast  of  Sweet  Bread,  their  Feast  of  Honour  for 
Thiennette,  their  Grove-feast  in  the  garden.  It  may  truly  be 
a  subject  of  wonder  how  a  man  who  has  not,  like  the  King  of 
France,  four  hundred  and  forty-eight  persons  (the  hundred  and 
sixty-one  Gargons  de  la  Maison-bouche  I  do  not  reckon)  in  his 
kitchen,  nor  a  Fruiterie  of  thirty-one  human  bipeds,  nor  a  Pastry- 
cookery  of  three-and-twenty,  nor  a  daily  expenditure  of  387  livres 
21  sous, — how  such  a  man,  I  say,  can  eat  with  any  satisfaction. 
Nevertheless,  to  me,  a  cooking  mother  is  as  dear  as  a  whole  royal 
cooking  household,  given  rather  to  feed  upon  me  than  to  feed 
me. — The  most  precious  fragments  which  the  Biographer  and 
the  World  can  gather  from  this  meal,  consist  of  here  and  there 
an  edifying  piece  of  table-talk.  The  mother  had  much  to  tell. 
Thiennette  is  this  night,  she  mentions,  for  the  first  time,  to  put 
on  her  morning  promenade-dress  of  white  muslin,  as  also  a  satin 
girdle  and  steel  buckle  :  but,  adds  she,  it  will  not  sit  her ;  as  the 
Rittmeisterinn  (for  this  lady  used  to  hang  her  cast  clothes  on 
Thiennette,  as  Catholics  do  their  cast  crutches  and  sores  on  their 
patron  Saints)  was  much  thicker.  Good  women  grudge  each 
other  nothing,  save  only  clothes,  husbands  and  flax.  In  the  fancy 
of  the  Quintus,  by  virtue  of  this  apparel,  a  pair  of  angel  pinions 
were  sprouting  forth  from  the  shoulder-blades  of  Thiennette :  for 
him  a  garment  was  a  sort  of  hollow  half-man,  to  whom  only  the 
nobler  parts  and  the  first  principles  were  wanting :  he  honoured 
these  wrappages  and  hulls  of  our  interior,  not  as  an  Elegant,  or 
a  Critic  of  Beauty,  but  because  it  was  not  possible  for  him  to 
despise  aught  which  he  saw  others  honouring.    Farther,  the 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN* 


313 


good  mother  read  to  him,  as  it  were,  the  monumental  inscrip- 
tion of  his  father,  who  had  sunk  into  the  arms  of  Death  in  the 
thirty-second  year  of  his  age,  from  a  cause  which  I  explain  not 
here,  but  in  a  future  Letter-box,  having  too  much  affection  for 
the  reader.  Our  Quintus  could  not  sate  himself  with  hearing  of 
his  father. 

The  fairest  piece  of  news  was,  that  Fraulein  Thiennette  had 
sent  word  today :  "he  might  visit  Her  Ladyship  tomorrow,  as 
My  Lord,  his  godfather,  was  to  be  absent  in  town."  This,  how- 
ever, I  must  explain.  Old  Auf hammer  was  called  Egidius,  and 
was  Fixlein's  godfather  :  but  he, — though  the  Rittmeisterinn  duly 
covered  the  cradle  of  the  child  with  nightly  offerings,  with  flesh- 
tithes  and  grain-tithes, — had  frugally  made  him  no  christening 
present,  except  that  of  his  name,  which  proved  to  be  the  very 
balefulest.  For,  our  Egidiits  Fixlein,  with  his  Shock,  which,  by 
reason  of  the  French  convulsions,  had,  in  company  with  other 
emigrants,  run  off  from  Nantes,  was  but  lately  returned  from  col- 
lege,— when  he  and  his  dog,  as  ill  luck  would  have  it,  went  to 
walk  in  the  Hukelum  wood.  Now,  as  the  Quintus  was  ever  and 
anon  crying  out  to  his  attendant :  "  Coosh,  Schil"  (Couche, 
Gilles),  it  must  apparently  have  been  the  Devil  that  had  just 
then  planted  the  Lord  of  Auf  hammer  among  the  trees  and  bushes 
in  such  a  way,  that  this  whole  travestying  and  docking  of  his 
name, — for  Gilles  means  Egidius, — must  fall  directly  into  his 
ear.  Fixlein  could  neither  speak  French,  nor  any  offence  to 
mortal :  he  knew  not  head  or  tail  of  what  couche  signified ;  a 
word,  which,  in  Paris,  even  the  plebeian  dogs  are  now  in  the 
habit  of  saying  to  their  valets  de  chiens.  But  there  were  three 
things  which  Von  Auf  hammer  never  recalled ;  his  error,  his  anger 
and  his  word.  The  provokee,  therefore,  determined  that  the  ple- 
beian provoker  and  honour  -  stealer  should  never  more  speak  to 
him,  or — get  a  doit  from  him. 

I  return.  After  dinner  he  gazed  out  of  the  little  window  into 
the  garden,  and  saw  his  path  of  life  dividing  into  four  branches, 
leading  towards  just  as  many  skyward  Ascensions ;  towards  the 
Ascension  into  the  Parsonage,  and  that  into  the  Castle  to  Thien- 
nette, for  this  day ;  and  towards  the  third  into  Schadeck  for  the 
morrow ;  and  lastly,  into  every  house  in  Hukelum  as  the  fourth. 
And  now  when  the  mother  had  long  enough  kept  cheerfully  glid- 
ing about  on  tiptoe,  "not  to  disturb  him  in  studying  his  Latin 
Bible''  (the  Vulgata),  that  is,  in  reading  the  Litteratur-zeitung , 


814 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


he  at  last  rose  to  his  own  feet ;  and  the  humble  joy  of  the  mother 
ran  long  after  the  courageous  son,  who  dared  to  go  forth  and  speak 
to  a  Senior,  quite  unappalled.  Yet  it  was  not  without  reverence 
that  he  entered  the  dwelling  of  his  old,  rather  gray  than  bald- 
headed  teacher,  who  was  not  only  Virtue  itself,  but  also  Hunger, 
eating  frequently,  and  with  the  appetite  of  Pharaoh's  lean  kine. 
A  schoolman,  that  expects  to  become  a  professor,  will  scarcely 
deign  to  cast  an  eye  on  a  pastor ;  but  one,  who  is  himself  looking 
up  to  a  parsonage  as  to  his  working-house  and  breeding-house, 
knows  how  to  value  such  a  character.  The  new  parsonage, — as 
if  it  had,  like  a  Casa  Santa,  come  flying  out  of  Erlangen,  or  the 
Berlin  Friedrichs-strasse,  and  alighted  in  Hukelum, — was  for  the 
Quintus  a  Temple  of  the  Sun,  and  the  Senior  a  Priest  of  the 
Sun.  To  be  Parson  there  himself,  was  a  thought  overlaid  with 
virgin  honey;  such  a  thought  as  occurs  but  one  other  time  in 
History,  namely,  in  the  head  of  Hannibal,  when  he  projected 
stepping  over  the  Alps,  that  is  to  say,  over  the  threshold  of 
Rome. 

The  landlord  and  his  guest  formed  an  excellent  "bureau 
& 'esprit .  people  of  office,  especially  of  the  same  office,  have  more 
to  tell  each  other,  namely,  their  own  history,  than  your  idle 
May-chafers  and  Court-celestials,  who  must  speak  only  of  other 
people's. — The  Senior  made  a  soft  transition  from  his  iron-ware 
(in  the  stable  furniture),  to  the  golden  age  of  his  Academic  life, 
of  which  such  people  like  as  much  to  think,  as  poets  do  of  their 
childhood.  So  good  as  he  was,  he  still  half  joyfully  recollected 
that  he  had  once  been  less  so  :  but  joyful  remembrances  of  wrong 
actions  are  their  half  repetition,  as  repentant  remembrances  of 
good  ones  are  their  half  abolishment. 

Courteously  and  kindly  did  Zebedaus  (who  could  not  even 
enter  in  his  Notebook  the  name  of  a  person  of  quality  without 
writing  an  H.  for  Herr  before  it)  listen  to  the  Academic  Saturnalia 
of  the  old  gentleman,  who  in  Wittenberg  had  toped  as  well  as 
written,  and  thirsted  not  more  for  the  Hippocrene  than  for  Guk- 
guk.5 

Herr  Jerusalem  has  observed,  that  the  barbarism  which  often 
springs  up,  close  on  the  brightest  efflorescence  of  the  sciences, 
is  a  sort  of  strengthening  mudbath,  good  for  averting  the  over- 
refinement,  wherewith  such  efflorescence  always  threatens  us.  I 
believe  that  a  man  who  considers  how  high  the  sciences  have 
5  A  university  beer. 


LIFE  OF  QTJINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


315 


mounted  with  our  upper  classes, — for  instance  with  every  Patri- 
cian's son  in  Niirnberg,  to  whom  the  public  must  present  1000 
florins  for  studying  with, — I  believe  that  such  a  man  will  not 
grudge  the  Son  of  the  Muses  a  certain  barbarous  Middle-age  (the 
Burschen  or  Student  Life,  as  it  is  called),  which  may  again  so 
case-harden  him  that  his  refinement  shall  not  go  beyond  the 
limits.  The  Senior,  while  in  Wittenberg,  had  protected  the  one 
hundred  and  eighty  Academic  Freedoms, — so  many  of  them  has 
Petrus  Rebuffus  summed  up,6 — against  prescription,  and  lost  none 
except  his  moral  one,  of  which  truly  a  man,  even  in  a  convent, 
can  seldom  make  much.  This  gave  our  Quintus  courage  to  relate 
certain  pleasant  somersets  of  his  own,  which  at  Leipzig,  under 
the  Incubus-pressure  of  poverty,  he  had  contrived  to  execute.  Let 
us  hear  him :  His  landlord,  who  was  at  the  same  time  Professor 
and  Miser,  maintained  in  his  enclosed  court  a  whole  community 
of  hens:  Fixlein,  in  ( company  with  three  room-mates,  without 
difficulty  mastered  the  rent  of  a  chamber,  or  closet :  in  general 
their  main  equipments,  like  Phoenixes,  existed  but  in  the  singular 
number ;  one  bed,  in  which  always  the  one  pair  slept  before  mid- 
night, the  other  after  midnight,  like  nocturnal  watchmen ;  one 
coat,  in  which  one  after  the  other  they  appeared  in  public,  and 
which,  like  a  watch-coat,  was  the  national  uniform  of  the  com- 
pany ;  and  several  other  ones,  Unities  both  of  Interest  and  Place. 
Nowhere  can  you  collect  the  stress-memorials  and  siege-medals 
of  Poverty  more  pleasantly  and  philosophically  than  at  College  ; 
the  Academic  burgher  exhibits  to  us  how  many  humorists  and 
Diogeneses  Germany  has  in  it.  Our  Unitarians  had  just  one 
thing  four  times,  and  that  was  hunger.  The  Quintus  related, 
perhaps  with  a  too  pleasurable  enjoyment  of  the  recollection,  how 
one  of  this  famishing  coro  invented  means  of  appropriating  the 
Professor's  hens  as  just  tribute,  or  subsidies.  He  said  (he  was  a 
Jurist),  they  must  once  for  all  borrow  a  legal  fiction  from  the 
Feudal  code,  and  look  on  the  Professor  as  the  soccage  tenant,  to 
whom  the  usufruct  of  the  hen-yard  and  hen-house  belonged ;  but 

6  From  Peter  I  will  copy  one  or  two  of  these  privileges  ;  the  whole  of  which 
were  once,  at  the  origin  of  universities,  in  full  force.  For  instance,  a  student 
can  compel  a  citizen  to  let  him  his  house  and  his  horse ;  an  injury,  done  even  to 
his  relations,  must  be  made  good  fourfold  ;  he  is  not  obliged  to  fulfil  the  written 
commands  of  the  Pope  ;  the  neighbourhood  must  indemnify  him  for  what  is  stolen 
from  him ;  if  he  and  a  non-student  are  living  at  variance,  the  latter  only  can  be 
expelled  from  the  boarding-house ;  a  Doctor  is  obliged  to  support  a  poor  student  ; 
if  he.  is  killed,  the  next  ten  houses  are  laid  under  interdict  till  the  murderer  is 
discovered;  his  legacies  are  not  abridged  byfalcidia,  &c.  &c. 


316 


JEAN  PAUL  FMEDMCH  RICHTER. 


on  themselves,  as  the  feudal  superiors  of  the  same,  to  whom 
accordingly  the  vassal  was  bound  to  pay  his  feudal  dues.  And 
now,  that  the  Fiction  might  follow  Nature,  continued  he, — "ftctio 
sequitur  naturam" — it  behoved  them  to  lay  hold  of  said  Yule- 
hens,  by  direct  personal  distraint.  But  into  the  court-yard  there 
was  no  getting.  The  feudalist,  therefore,  prepared  a  fishing-line ; 
stuck  a  bread-pill  on  the  hook,  and  lowered  his  fishing-tackle, 
anglerwise,  down  into  the  court.  In  a  few  seconds  the  barb  stuck 
in  a  hen's  throat,  and  the  hen  now  communicating  with  its  feudal 
superior,  could  silently,  like  ships  by  x^rchimedes,  be  heaved  aloft 
to  the  hungry  air -fishing  society,  where,  according  to  circum- 
stances, the  proper  feudal  name  and  title  of  possession  failed  not 
to  be  awaiting  her  :  for  the  updrawn  fowls  were  now  denominated 
Christmas -fowls,  now  Forest -hens,  Bailiff-hens,  Pentecost  and 
Summer-hens.  "  I  begin,"  said  the  angling  lord  of  the  manor, 
"  with  taking  Rutcher-dues,  for  so  we  call  the  triple  and  quintuple 
of  the  original  quit-rent,  when  the  vassal,  as  is  the  case  here,  has 
long  neglected  payment."  The  Professor,  like  any  other  prince, 
observed  with  sorrow  the  decreasing  population  of  his  hen-yard, 
for  his  subjects,  like  the  Hebrews,  were  dying  by  enumeration. 
At  last  he  had  the  happiness,  while  reading  his  lecture, — he  was 
just  come  to  the  subject  of  Forest  Salt  and  Coin  Regalities, — 
to  descry,  through  the  window  of  his  auditorium,  a  quit-rent  hen 
suspended,  like  Ignatius  Loyola  in  prayer,  or  Juno  in  her  punish- 
ment, in  middle  air  :  he  followed  the  incomprehensible  direct 
ascension  of  the  aeronautic  animal,  and  at  last  descried  at  the 
upper  window  the  attracting  artist,  and  animal-magnetiser,  who 
had  drawn  his  lot  for  dinner  from  the  hen-yard  below.  Contrary 
to  all  expectation,  he  terminated  this  fowling  sport  sooner  than 
his  Lecture  on  Kegalities. 

Fixlein  walked  home,  amid  the  vesperal  melodies  of  the  steeple 
sounding-holes  ;  and  by  the  road,  courteously  took  off  his  hat  be- 
fore the  empty  windows  of  the  Castle  :  houses  of  quality  were  to 
him  like  persons  of  quality,  as  in  India  the  Pagoda  at  once  repre- 
sents the  temple  and  the  god.  To  the  mother  he  brought  feigned 
compliments,  which  she  repaid  with  authentic  ones  ;  for  this  after- 
noon she  had  been  over,  with  her  historical  tongue  and  nature- 
interrogating  eye,  visiting  the  white -muslin  Thiennette.  The 
mother  was  wont  to  show  her  every  spare  penny  which  he  dropped 
into  her  large  empty  purse,  and  so  raise  him  in  the  good  graces 
of  the  Fraulein ;  for  women  feel  their  hearts  much  more  attracted 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


317 


towards  a  son,  who  tenderly  reserves  for  a  mother  some  of  his 
benefits,  than  we  do  to  a  daughter  anxiously  caring  for  her  father; 
perhaps  from  a  hundred  causes,  and  this  among  the  rest,  that  in 
their  experience  of  sons  and  husbands  they  are  more  used  to  find 
these  persons  mere  six-feet  thunder- clouds,  forked  waterspouts, 
or  even  reposing  tornadoes. 

Blessed  Quintus !  on  whose  Life  this  other  distinction  like 
an  order  of  nobility  does  also  shine,  that  thou  canst  tell  it  over  to 
thy  mother ;  as,  for  example,  this  past  afternoon  in  the  parson- 
age. Thy  joy  flows  into  another  heart,  and  streams  back  from 
it,  redoubled,  into  thy  own.  There  is  a  closer  approximating  of 
hearts,  and  also  of  sounds,  than  that  of  the  Echo ;  the  highest 
approximation  melts  Tone  and  Echo  into  Resonance  together. 

It  is  historically  certain  that  both  of  them  supped  this  even- 
ing ;  and  that  instead  of  the  whole  dinner  fragments  which  to- 
morrow might  themselves  represent  a  dinner,  nothing  but  the 
cake-offering  or  pudding  was  laid  upon  the  altar  of  the  table. 
The  mother,  who  for  her  own  child  would  willingly  have  neglected 
not  herself  only,  but  all  other  people,  now  made  a  motion  that  to 
the  Quintaner,  who  was  sporting  out  of  doors  and  baiting  a  bird 
instead  of  himself,  there  should  no  crum  of  the  precious  pastry 
be  given,  but  only  table-bread  without  the  crust.  But  the  School- 
man had  a  Christian  disposition,  and  said  that  it  was  Sunday, 
and  the  young  man  liked  something  delicate  to  eat  as  well  as  he. 
Fixlein, — the  counterpart  of  great  men  and  geniuses, — was  in- 
clined to  treat,  to  gift,  to  gratify  a  serving  house-mate,  rather 
than  a  man  who  is  for  the  first  time  passing  through  the  gate, 
and  at  the  next  post- stage  will  forget  both  his  hospitable  landlord 
and  the  last  postmaster.  On  the  whole,  our  Quintus  had  a  touch 
of  honour  in  him,  and  notwithstanding  his  thrift  and  sacred  re- 
gard for  money,  he  willingly  gave  it  away  in  cases  of  honour,  and 
unwillingly  in  cases  of  overpowering  sympathy,  which  too  pain- 
fully filled  the  cavities  of  his  heart,  and  emptied  those  of  his 
purse.  Whilst  the  Quintaner  was  exercising  the  jus  compascui 
on  the  cake,  and  six  arms  were  peacefully  resting  on  Thiennette's 
free-table,  Fixlein  read  to  himself  and  the  company  the  Flachs- 
enfingen  Address-calendar ;  any  higher  thing,  except  Meusel's 
Gelehrtes  Deutschland,7  he  could  not  figure :  the  Kammerherrs 
and  Raths  of  the  Calendar  went  tickling  over  his  tongue  like  the 

7  Literary  Germany ;  a  work  (I  believe  of  no  great  merit)  which  Eichter  often 
twitches  in  the  same  style. — Ed. 


818 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


raisins  of  the  cake ;  and  of  the  more  rich  church-livings  he,  by 
reading,  as  it  were  levied  a  tithe. 

He  purposely  remained  his  own  Edition  in  Sunday  Wove- 
paper ;  I  mean,  he  did  not  lay  away  his  Sunday  coat,  even  when 
the  Prayer-bell  tolled ;  for  he  had  still  much  to  do. 

After  supper,  he  was  just  about  visiting  the  Fraulein,  when 
he  descried  her  in  person,  like  a  lily  dipt  in  the  red  twilight,  in 
the  Castle-garden,  whose  western  limit  his  house  constituted,  the 
southern  one  being  the  Chinese  wall  of  the  Castle  ....  By  the 
way,  how  I  got  to  the  knowledge  of  all  this,  what  Letter-boxes 
are,  whether  I  myself  was  ever  there,  &c.  &c, — the  whole  of  this 
shall,  upon  my  life,  be  soon  and  faithfully  communicated  to  the 
reader,  and  that  too  in  the  present  Book. 

Fixlein  hopped  forth  like  a  Will-o'-wisp  into  the  garden,  whose 
flower-perfume  was  mingling  with  his  supper-perfume.  No  one 
bowed  lower  to  a  nobleman  than  he,  not  out  of  plebeian  servility, 
nor  of  self-interested  cringing,  but  because  he  thought  "  a  noble- 
man was  a  nobleman."  But  in  this  case  his  bow,  instead  of  fall- 
ing forwards,  fell  obliquely  to  the  right,  as  it  were  after  his  hat  : 
for  he  had  not  risked  taking  a  stick  with  him ;  and  hat  and  stick 
were  his  proppage  and  balance-wheel,  in  short,  his  bowing-gear, 
without  which  it  was  out  of  his  power  to  produce  any  courtly  bow, 
had  you  offered  him  the  High  Church  of  Hamburg  for  so  doing. 
Thiennette's  mirthfulness  soon  unfolded  his  crumpled  soul  into 
straight  form,  and  into  the  proper  tone.  He  delivered  her  a  long 
neat  Thanksgiving  and  Harvest  sermon  for  the  scaly  cake ;  which 
appeared  to  her  at  once  kind  and  tedious.  Young  women  with- 
out the  polish  of  high  life  reckon  tedious  pedantry,  merely  like 
snuffing,  one  of  the  necessary  ingredients  of  a  man  :  they  rever- 
ence us  infinitely ;  and  as  Lambert  could  never  speak  to  the  King 
of  Prussia,  by  reason  of  his  sun-eyes,  except  in  the  dark,  so  they, 
I  believe,  often  like  better, — also  by  reason  of  our  sublime  air, — 
if  they  can  catch  us  in  the  dark  too.  Him  Thiennette  edified  by 
the  Imperial  History  of  Herr  von  Auf  hammer  and  Her  Ladyship 
his  spouse,  who  meant  to  put  him,  the  Quintus,  in  her  will :  her 
he  edified  by  his  Literary  History,  as  relating  to  himself  and  the 
Subrector ;  how,  for  instance,  he  was  at  present  vicariating  in 
the  Second  Form,  and  ruling  over  scholars  as  long  in  stature  as 
himself.  And  thus  did  the  two  in  happiness,  among  red  bean- 
blossoms,  red  may-chafers,  before  the  red  of  the  twilight  burning 
lower  and  lower  on  the  horizon,  walk  to  and  fro  in  the  garden ; 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


319 


and  turn  always  with  a  smile  as  they  approached  the  head  of  the 
ancient  gardeneress,  standing  like  a  window -bust  through  the 
little  lattice,  which  opened  in  the  bottom  of  a  larger  one. 

To  me  it  is  incomprehensible  he  did  not  fall  in  love.  I  know 
his  reasons,  indeed  :  in  the  first  place,  she  had  nothing ;  secondly, 
he  had  nothing,  and  school-debts  to  boot ;  thirdly,  her  genealo- 
gical tree  was  a  boundary-tree  and  warning-post;  fourthly,  his 
hands  were  tied  up  by  another  nobler  thought,  which,  for  good 
cause,  is  yet  reserved  from  the  reader.  Nevertheless — Fixlein  ! 
I  durst  not  have  been  in  thy  place  !  I  should  have  looked  at  her, 
and  remembered  her  virtues  and  our  school-years,  and  then  have 
drawn  forth  my  too  fusible  heart,  and  presented  it  to  her  as  a  bill 
of  exchange,  or  insinuated  it  as  a  summons.  For  I  should  have 
considered  that  she  resembled  a  nun  in  two  senses,  in  her  good 
heart  and  in  her  good  pastry ;  that,  in  spite  of  her  intercourse 
with  male  vassals,  she  was  no  Charles  Genevieve  Louise  Auguste 
Timothe  Eon  de  Beaumont,8  but  a  smooth,  fair-haired,  white- 
capped  dove ;  that  she  sought  more  to  please  her  own  sex  than 
ours ;  that  she  showed  a  melting  heart,  not  previously  borrowed 
from  the  Circulating  Library,  in  tears,  for  which  in  her  innocence 
she  rather  took  shame  than  credit. — At  the  very  first  cheapen- 
ing, I  should,  on  these  grounds,  have  been  out  with  my  heart. — 
Had  I  fully  reflected,  Quintus  !  that  I  knew  her  as  myself;  that 
her  hands  and  mine  (to  wit,  had  I  been  thou)  had  both  been  guided 
by  the  same  Senior  to  Latin  penmanship ;  that  we  two,  when 
little  children,  had  kissed  each  other  before  the  glass,  to  see 
whether  the  two  image -children  would  do  it  likewise  in  the  mirror ; 
that  often  we  had  put  hands  of  both  sexes  into  the  same  muff, 
and  there  played  with  them  in  secret ;  had  I,  lastly,  considered 
that  we  were  here  standing  before  the  glass-house,  now  splendent 
in  the  enamel  of  twilight,  and  that  on  the  cold  panes  of  this 
glass-house  we  two  (she  within,  I  without)  had  often  pressed  our 
warm  cheeks  together,  parted  only  by  the  thickness  of  the  glass, 
— then  had  I  taken  this  poor  gentle  soul,  pressed  asunder  by 
Fate,  and  seeing,  amid  her  thunder-clouds,  no  higher  elevation 
to  part  them  and  protect  her  than  the  grave,  and  had  drawn  her 
to  my  own  soul,  and  warmed  her  on  my  heart,  and  encompassed 
her  about  with  my  eyes. 

In  truth,  the  Quintus  would  have  done  so  too,  had  not  the 
above-mentioned  nobler  thought,  which  I  yet  disclose  not,  kept 
8  See  SchmelzU's  Journey,  p.  284. — Ed. 


320 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


him  back.  Softened,  without  knowing  the  cause — (accordingly 
he  gave  his  mother  a  kiss) — aud  blessed  without  having  had  a 
literary  conversation ;  and  dismissed  with  a  freight  of  humble 
compliments,  which  he  was  to  disload  on  the  morrow  before  the 
Dragoon  Kittmeisterinn,  he  returned  to  his  little  cottage,  and 
looked  yet  a  long  while  out  of  its  dark  windows,  at  the  light  ones 
of  the  Castle.  And  then,  when  the  first  quarter  of  the  moon  was 
setting,  that  is,  about  midnight,  he  again,  in  the  cool  sigh  of  a 
mild,  fanning,  moist  and  directly  heart-addressing  night-breeze, 

opened  the  eyelids  of  a  sight  already  sunk  in  dreaming  

Sleep,  for  today  thou  hast  done  naught  ill !  I,  whilst  the 
drooping  shut  flower-bell  of  thy  spirit  sinks  on  thy  pillow,  will 
look  forth  into  the  breezy  night  over  thy  morning  footpath, 
which,  through  the  translucent  little  wood,  is  to  lead  thee  to  Scha- 
deck,  to  thy  patroness.  All  prosperity  attend  thee,  thou  foolish 
Quintus ! — 


SECOND  LETTER-BOX. 

Frau  von  Auf hammer.    Childhood-Resonance.  Authorcraft. 

The  early  piping  which  the  little  thrush  last  night  adopted 
by  the  Quintaner  from  its  nest,  started  for  victual  about  two 
o'clock,  soon  drove  our  Quintus  into  his  clothes ;  whose  calender- 
press  and  parallel-ruler  the  hands  of  his  careful  mother  had  been, 
for  she  would  not  send  him  to  the  Kittmeisterinn  ' '  like  a  runa- 
gate dog."  The  Shock  was  incarcerated,  the  Quintaner  taken 
with  him,  as  likewise  many  wholesome  rules  from  Mother  Fix- 
lein,  how  to  conduct  himself  towards  the  Kittmeisterinn.  But 
the  son  answered :  "  Mamma,  when  a  man  has  been  in  company, 
like  me,  with  high  people,  with  a  Fraulein  Thiennette,  he  soon 
knows  whom  he  is  speaking  to,  and  what  polished  manners  and 
Saver  di  veaver  (Savoir  vivre)  require." 

He  arrived  with  the  Quintaner,  and  green  fingers  (dyed  with 
the  leaves  he  had  plucked  on  the  path),  and  with  a  half- nibbled 
rose  between  his  teeth,  in  presence  of  the  sleek  lackeys  of  Scha- 
deck. — If  women  are  flowers, — though  as  often  silk  and  Italian 
and  gum-flowers  as  botanical  ones, — then  was  Frau  von  Auf- 
hammer  a  ripe  flower,  with  (adipose)  neck-bulb,  and  tuberosity 
(of  lard).  Already,  in  the  half  of  her  body,  cut  away  from  life 
by  the  apoplexy,  she  lay  upon  her  lard-pillow  but  as  on  a  softer 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


321 


grave  :  nevertheless,  the  portion  of  her  that  remained  was  at  once 
lively,  pious  and  proud.  Her  heart  was  a  flowing  cornucopia  to 
all  men,  yet  this  not  from  philanthropy,  but  from  rigid  devotion: 
the  lower  classes  she  assisted,  cherished  and  despised,  regarding 
nothing  in  them,  except  it  were  their  piety.  She  received  the 
bowing  Quintus  with  the  back-bowing  air  of  a  patroness ;  yet  she 
brightened  into  a  look  of  kindliness  at  his  disloading  of  the  com- 
pliments from  Thiennette. 

She  began  the  conversation,  and  long  continued  it  alone,  and 
said, — yet  without  losing  the  inflation  of  pride  from  her  counte- 
nance :  "  She  should  soon  die  ;  but  the  god-children  of  her  hus 
band  she  would  remember  in  her  will."  Farther,  she  told  him 
directly  in  the  face,  which  stood  there  all  over- written  with  the 
Fourth  Commandment  before  her,  that  "  he  must  not  build  upon 
a  settlement  in  Hukelum  ;  but  to  the  Flachsenfingen  Conrectorate 
(to  which  the  Biirgermeister  and  Council  had  the  right  of  nomina- 
tion), she  hoped  to  promote  him,  as  it  was  from  the  then  Biirger- 
meister that  she  bought  her  coffee,  and  from  the  Town- Syndic 
(he  drove  a  considerable  wholesale  and  retail  trade  in  Hamburg 
candles)  that  she  bought  both  her  wax  and  tallow  lights." 

And  now  by  degrees  he  arrived  at  his  humble  petition,  when 
she  asked  him  sick-news  of  Senior  Astmann,  who  guided  himself 
more  by  Luther's  Catechism  than  by  the  Catechism  of  Health. 
She  was  Astmann' s  patroness  in  a  stricter  than  ecclesiastical 
sense ;  and  she  even  confessed  that  she  would  soon  follow  this 
true  shepherd  of  souls,  when  she  heard,  here  at  Shadeck,  the 
sound  of  his  funeral-bell.  Such  strange  chemical  affinities  exist 
between  our  dross  and  our  silver  veins  ;  as,  for  example,  here 
between  Pride  and  Love  :  and  I  could  wish  that  we  would  pardon 
this  hypostatic  union  in  all  persons,  as  readily  as  we  do  it  in  the 
fair,  who,  with  all  their  faults,  are  nevertheless  by  us, — as,  ac- 
cording to  Du  Fay,  iron,  though  mixed  with  any  other  metal,  is, 
by  the  magnet, — attracted  and  held  fast. 

Supposing  even  that  the  Devil  had,  in  some  idle  minute, 
sown  a  handful  or  two  of  the  seeds  of  Envy  in  our  Quintus'  soul, 
yet  they  had  not  sprouted;  and  today  especially  they  did  not, 
when  he  heard  the  praises  of  a  man  who  had  been  his  teacher, 
and  who, — what  he  reckoned  a  Titulado  of  the  Earth,  not  from 
vanity  but  from  piety, — was  a  clergyman.  So  much,  however,  is, 
according  to  History,  not  to  be  denied :  That  he  now  straight- 
way came  forth  with  his  petition  to  the  noble  lady,  signifying 

vol.  in,  y 


322 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


that  "  indeed  he  would  cheerfully  content  himself  for  a  few  years 
in  the  school ;  but  yet  in  the  end  he  longed  to  be  in  some  small 
quiet  priestly  office."  To  her  question,  "  But  was  he  orthodox?" 
he  answered,  that  "  he  hoped  so;  he  had  in  Leipzig,  not  only 
attended  all  the  public  lectures  of  Dr.  Burscher,  but  also  had 
taken  private  instructions  from  several  sound  teachers  of  the 
faith,  well  knowing  that  the  Consistorium,  in  its  examinations 
as  to  purity  of  doctrine,  was  now  more  strict  than  formerly." 

The  sick  lady  required  him  to  make  a  proof-shot,  namely,  to 
administer  to  her  a  sick-bed  exhortation.  By  Heaven  !  he  admin- 
istered to  her  one  of  the  best.  Her  pride  of  birth  now  crouched 
before  his  pride  of  office  and  priesthood  ;  for  though  he  could  not, 
with  the  Dominican  monk,  Alanus  de  Rupe,  believe  that  a  priest 
was  greater  than  God,  inasmuch  as  the  latter  could  only  make  a 
World,  but  the  former  a  God  (in  the  mass) ;  yet  he  could  not 
but  fall-in  with  Hostiensis,  who  shows  that  the  priestly  dignity  is 
seven  thousand  six  hundred  and  forty-four  times  greater  than  the 
kingly,  the  Sun  being  just  so  many  times  greater  than  the  Moon. 
— But  a  Rittmeisterinn — she  shrinks  into  absolute  nothing  before 
a  parson. 

In  the  servants'  hall  he  applied  to  the  lackeys  for  the  last 
annual  series  of  the  Hamburg  Political  Journal;  perceiving,  that 
with  these  historical  documents  of  the  time,  they  were  scandal- 
ously papering  the  buttons  of  travelling  raiment.  In  gloomy 
harvest  evenings,  he  could  now  sit  down  and  read  for  himself 
what  good  news  were  transpiring  in  the  political  world — twelve 
months  ago. 

On  a  Triumphal  Car,  full -laden  with  laurel,  and  to  which 
Hopes  alone  were  yoked,  he  drove  home  at  night,  and  by  the 
road  advised  the  Quintaner  not  to  be  puffed  up  with  any  earthly 
honour,  but  silently  to  thank  God,  as  himself  was  now  doing. 

The  thickset  blooming  grove  of  his  four  canicular  weeks,  and 
the  flying  tumult  of  blossoms  therein,  are  already  painted  on  three 
of  the  sides.  I  will  now  clutch  blindfold  into  his  days,  and  bring 
out  one  of  them :  one  smiles  and  sends  forth  its  perfumes  like 
another. 

Let  us  take,  for  instance,  the  Saint's  day  of  his  mother, 
Clara,  the  twelfth  of  August.  In  the  morning.,  he  had  perennial, 
fireproof  joys,  that  is  to  say,  Employments.  For  he  was  writing, 
as  I  am  doing,    Truly,  if  Xerxes  proposed  a  prize  for  the  in- 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


323 


vention  of  a  new  pleasure,  any  man  who  had  sat  down  to  write 
his  thoughts  on  the  prize-question,  had  the  new  pleasure  already 
among  his  fingers.  I  know  only  one  thing  sweeter  than  making 
a  book,  and  that  is,  to  project  one.  Fixlein  used  to  write  little 
works,  of  the  twelfth  part  of  an  alphabet  in  size,  which  in  their 
manuscript  state  he  got  bound  by  the  bookbinder  in  gilt  boards, 
and  betitled  with  printed  letters,  and  then  inserted  them  among 
the  literary  ranks  of  his  book-board.  Every  one  thought  they 
were  novelties  printed  in  writing  types.  He  had  laboured, — I 
shall  omit  his  less  interesting  performances, — at  a  Collection  of 
Errors  of  the  Press,  in  German  writings  :  he  compared  Errata 
with  each  other ;  showed  which  occurred  most  frequently ;  ob- 
served that  important  results  were  to  be  drawn  from  this,  and 
advised  the  reader  to  draw  them. 

Moreover,  he  took  his  place  among  the  German  Masorites. 
He  observes  with  great  justice  in  his  Preface  :  "  The  Jews  had 
their  Masora  to  show,  which  told  them  how  often  every  letter 
was  to  be  found  in  their  Bible ;  for  example,  the  Aleph  (the  A) 
42,377  times;  how  many  verses  there  are  in  which  all  the  con- 
sonants appear  (there  are  26  verses),  or  only  eighty  (there  are  3) ; 
how  many  verses  we  have  into  which  42  words  and  160  con- 
sonants enter  (there  is  just  one,  Jeremiah  xxi.  7) ;  which  is  the 
middle  letter  in  certain  books  (in  the  Pentateuch,  it  is  in  Levi- 
ticus xi.  42,  the  noble  V9),  or  in  the  whole  Bible  itself.  But 
where  have  we  Christians  any  similar  Masora  for  Luther's  Bible 
to  show  ?  Has  it  been  accurately  investigated  which  is  the  middle 
word,  or  the  middle  letter  here,  which  vowel  appears  seldomest, 
and  how  often  each  vowel  ?  Thousands  of  Bible- Christians  go  out 
of  the  world,  without  ever  knowing  that  the  German  A  occurs 
323,015  times  (therefore  above  7  times  oftener  than  the  Hebrew 
one)  in  their  Bible." 

I  could  wish  that  inquirers  into  Biblical  Literature  among 
our  Reviewers  would  publicly  let  me  know,  if  on  a  more  accurate 
summation  they  find  this  number  incorrect.10 

9  As  in  the  State. —  [V.  or  Von,  de,  of,  being  the  symbol  of  the  nobility,  the 
middle  order  of  the  State. — Ed.] 

10  In  Erlang,  my  petition  has  been  granted.  The  Bible  Institution  of  that 
town  have  found  instead  of  the  116,301  A's,  which  Fixlein  at  first  pretended  with 
such  certainty  to  find  in  the  Bible-books  (which  false  number  was  accordingly 
given  in  the  first  Edition  of  this  Work,  p.  81),  the  above-mentioned  323,015  ; 
which  (uncommonly  singular)  is  precisely  the  sum  of  all  the  letters  iu  the  Koraat 
put  together.  See  Ludeke's  Beschr.  des  Turk.  Beichs  (Ludeke's  Description  of 
the  Turkish  Empire.    New  edition,  1780). 


324 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDItlCH  RICHTER. 


Much  also  did  the  Quintus  collect:  he  had  a  fine  Almanac 
Collection,  a  Catechism  and  Pamphlet  Collection ;  also  a  Col- 
lection of  Advertisements,  which  he  began,  is  not  so  incomplete 
as  you  most  frequently  see  such  things.  He  puts  high  value  on 
his  Alphabetical  Lexicon  of  German  Subscribers  for  Books,  where 
my  name  also  occurs  among  the  J's. 

But  what  he  liked  best  to  produce  were  Schemes  of  Books. 
Accordingly,  he  sewed  together  a  large  work,  wherein  he  merely 
advised  the  Learned  of  things  they  ought  to  introduce  in  Literary 
History,  which  History  he  rated  some  ells  higher  than  Universal 
or  Imperial  History.  In  his  Prolegomena  to  this  performance, 
he  transiently  submitted  to  the  Literary  republic  that  Hommel 
had  given  a  register  of  Jurists  who  were  sons  of  wh — ,  of  others 
who  had  become  Saints ;  that  Baillet  enumerates  the  Learned 
who  meant  to  write  something  ;  and  Ancillon  those  who  wrote 
nothing  at  all ;  and  the  Liibeck  Superintendent  Gotze,  those  who 
were  shoemakers,  those  who  were  drowned ;  and  Bernhard  those 
whose  fortunes  and  history  before  birth  were  interesting.  This 
(he  could  now  continue)  should,  as  it  seems,  have  excited  us  to 
similar  muster-rolls  and  matriculations  of  other  kinds-  of  Learned ; 
whereof  he  proposed  a  few :  for  example,  of  the  Learned,  who 
were  unlearned ;  of  those  who  were  entire  rascals ;  of  such  as 
wore  their  own  hair,  —  of  cue  -  preachers,  cue  -  psalmists,  cue- 
annalists,  and  so  forth  ;  of  the  Learned  who  had  worn  black 
leather  breeches,  of  others  who  had  worn  rapiers  ;  of  the  Learned 
who  had  died  in  their  eleventh  year,  —  in  their  twentieth  — 
twenty -first,  &c,  —  in  their  hundred  and  fiftieth,  of  which  he 
knew  no  instance,  unless  the  Beggar  Thomas  Parr  might  be 
adduced  ;  of  the  Learned  who  wrote  a  more  abominable  hand 
than  the  other  Learned  (whereof  we  know  only  Kolfinken  and  his 
letters,  which  were  as  long  as  his  hands11) ;  or  of  the  Learned  who 
had  dipt  nothing  from  each  other  but  the  beard  (whereof  no  in- 
stance is  known,  save  that  of  Philelphus  and  Timotheus12). 

Such  by- studies  did  he  carry  on  along  with  his  official  labours : 
but  I  think  the  State  in  viewing  these  matters  is  actually  mad ;  it 
compares  the  man  who  is  great  in  Philosophy  and  Belles  Lettres 
at  the  expense  of  his  jog-trot  officialities,  to  concert-clocks,  which, 

11  Paravicini  Singularia  de  viris  Claris.    Cent.  I.  2 

12  Ejusd.  Cent.  II.  Philelphus  quarrelled  with  the  Greek  ahout  the  quantity 
of  a  syllable :  the  prize  or  bet  was  the  beard  of  the  vanquished.  Timotheus 
lost  his. 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


325 


though  striking  their  hours  in  flute-melodies,  are  worse  time- 
keepers than  your  gross  stupid  steeple-clocks. 

To  return  to  St.  Clara's  day.  Fixlein,  after  such  mental 
exertions,  bolted  out  under  the  music-bushes  and  rustling-trees ; 
and  returned  not  again  out  of  warm  Nature,  till  plate  and  chair 
were  already  placed  at  the  table.  In  the  course  of  the  repast, 
something  occurred  which  a  Biographer  must  not  omit :  for  his 
mother  had,  by  request,  been  wont  to  map  out  for  him,  during 
the  process  of  mastication,  the  chart  of  his  child's- world,  relating 
all  the  traits  which  in  any  way  prefigured  what  he  had  now  grown 
to.  This  perspective  sketch  of  his  early  Past,  he  committed  to 
certain  little  leaves,  which  merit  our  undivided  attention.  For 
such  leaves  exclusively,  containing  scenes,  acts,  plays  of  his 
childhood,  he  used  chronologically  to  file  and  arrange  in  sepa- 
rate drawers  in  a  little  child' s-desk  of  his ;  and  thus  to  divide 
his  Biography,  as  Moser  did  his  Publicistic  Materials,  into  sepa- 
rate letter-boxes.  He  had  boxes  or  drawers  for  memorial-letters 
of  his  twelfth,  of  his  thirteenth,  fourteenth,  &c.  of  his  twenty- 
first  year,  and  so  on.  Whenever  he  chose  to  conclude  a  day  of 
pedagogic  drudgery  by  an  evening  of  peculiar  rest,  he  simply 
pulled  out  a  letter- drawer,  a  register-bar  in  his  Life-hand-organ, 
and  recollected  the  whole. 

And  here  must  I  in  reference  to  those  reviewing  Mutes,  who 
may  be  for  casting  the  noose  of  strangulation  round  my  neck, 
most  particularly  beg,  that,  before  doing  so  on  account  of  my 
Chapters  being  called  Letter-boxes,  they  would  have  the  good- 
ness to  look  whose  blame  it  was,  and  to  think  whether  I  could 
possibly  help  it,  seeing  the  Quintus  had  divided  his  Biography 
into  such  Boxes  himself:  they  have  Christian  bowels. 

But  about  his  elder  brother  he  put  no  saddening  question  to 
his  mother :  this  poor  boy  a  peculiar  Fate  had  laid  hold  of,  and 
with  all  his  genial  endowment,  dashed  to  pieces  on  the  iceberg  of 
Death.  For  he  chanced  to  leap  on  an  ice-board  that  had  jammed 
itself  among  several  others  ;  but  these  recoiled,  and  his  shot  forth 
with  him ;  melted  away  as  it  floated  under  his  feet,  and  so  sunk 
his  heart  of  fire  amid  the  ice  and  waves.  It  grieved  his  mother 
that  he  was  not  found,  that  her  heart  had  not  been  harrowed  by 
the  look  of  the  swoln  corpse. — 0  good  mother,  rather  thank  God 
for  it!— 

After  breakfast,  to  fortify  himself  with  new  vigour  for  his  desk, 


326 


JEAN  PAUL  FMEDEICH  RICHTER. 


he  for  some  time  strolled  idly  over  the  house,  and,  like  a  Police 
Fire-inspector,  visited  all  the  nooks  of  his  cottage,  to  gather  from 
them  here  and  there  a  live  ember  from  the  ash-covered  rejoicing- 
fire  of  his  childhood.  He  mounted  to  the  garret,  to  the  empty 
bird-coops  of  his  father,  who  in  winter  had  been  a  birder ;  and  he 
transiently  reviewed  the  lumber  of  his  old  playthings,  which  were 
lying  in  the  netted  enclosure  of  a  large  canary  breeding-cage.  In 
the  minds  of  children,  it  is  regular  little  forms,  such  as  those  of 
balls  and  dies,  that  impress  and  express  themselves  most  forcibly. 
From  this  may  the  reader  explain  to  himself  Fixlein's  delight  in 
the  red  acorn-blockhouse,  in  the  sparwork  glued  together  out  of 
white  chips  and  husks  of  potato  -  plums,  in  the  cheerful  glass- 
house of  a  cube-shaped  lantern,  and  other  the  like  products  of  his 
early  architecture.  The  following,  however,  I  explain  quite  dif- 
ferently :  he  had  ventured,  without  leave  given  from  any  lord  of 
the  manor,  to  build  a  clay  house  ;  not  for  cottagers,  but  for  flies ; 
and  which,  therefore,  you  could  readily  enough  have  put  in  your 
pocket.  This  fly-hospital  had  its  glass  windows,  and  a  red  coat 
of  colouring,  and  very  many  alcoves,  and  three  balconies  :  bal- 
conies, as  a  sort  of  house  within  a  house,  he  had  loved  from  of 
old  so  much,  that  he  could  scarcely  have  liked  Jerusalem  well, 
where  (according  to  Lightfoot)  no  such  thing  is  permitted  to  be 
built.  From  the  glistening  eyes,  with  which  the  architect  had 
viewed  his  tenantry  creeping  about  the  windows  or  feeding  out  of 
the  sugar-trough, — for,  like  the  Count  St.  Germain,  they  ate 
nothing  but  sugar, — from  this  joy  an  adept  in  the  art  of  educa- 
tion might  easily  have  prophesied  his  turn  for  household  contrac- 
tion ;  to  his  fancy,  in  those  times,  even  gardeners '-huts  were  like 
large  waste  Arks  and  Halls,  and  nothing  bigger  than  such  a  fly- 
Louvre  seemed  a  true,  snug,  citizen's -house.  He  now  felt  and 
handled  his  old  high  child's-stool,  which  had,  in  former  days, 
resembled  the  Secies  Exploratoria  of  the  Pope  ;  he  gave  his 
child's-coach  a  tug  and  made  it  run  ;  but  he  could  not  understand 
what  balsam  and  holiness  so  much  distinguished  it  from  all  other 
child's-coaches.  He  wondered  that  the  real  sports  of  children 
should  not  so  delight  him,  as  the  emblems  of  these  sports,  when 
the  child  that  had  carried  them  on  was  standing  grown  up  to 
manhood  in  his  presence. 

Before  one  article  in  the  house  he  stood  heart-melted  and 
sad ;  before  a  little  angular  clothes-press,  which  was  no  higher 
than       table,  and  which  had  belonged  to  his  poor  drowned  bro- 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


327 


ther.  When  the  boy  with  the  key  of  it  was  swallowed  by  the 
waves,  the  excruciated  mother  had  made  a  vow  that  this  toy-press 
of  his  should  never  be  broken  up  by  violence.  Most  probably 
there  is  nothing  in  it,  but  the  poor  soul's  playthings.  Let  us 
look  away  from  this  bloody  urn.  

Bacon  reckons  the  remembrances  of  childhood  among  whole- 
some medicinal  things ;  naturally  enough,  therefore,  they  acted 
like  a  salutary  digestive  on  the.Quintus.  He  could  now  again 
betake  him  with  new  heart  to  his  desk,  and  produce  something 
quite  peculiar — petitions  for  church -livings.  He  took  the  Address- 
calendar,  and  for  every  country  parish  that  he  found  in  it,  got  a 
petition  in  readiness ;  which  he  then  laid  aside,  till  such  time  as 
the  present  incumbent  should  decease.  For  Hukelum  alone  he 
did  not  solicit. — It  is  a  pretty  custom  in  Flachsenfingen  that  for 
every  office  which  is  vacant,  you  are  required,  if  you  want  it,  to 
sue.  As  the  higher  use  of  Prayer  consists  not  in  its  fulfilment, 
but  in  its  accustoming  you  to  pray ;  so  likewise  petitionary  papers 
ought  to  be  given  in,  not  indeed  that  you  may  get  the  office, — 
this  nothing  but  your  money  can  do, — but  that  you  may  learn  to 
write  petitions.  In  truth,  if  among  the  Calmucks,  the  turning 
of  a  calabash13  stands  in  the  place  of  Prayer,  a  slight  movement 
of  the  purse  may  be  as  much  as  if  you  supplicated  in  words. 

Towards  evening — it  was  Sunday — he  went  out  roving  over 
the  village  ;  he  pilgrimed  to  his  old  sporting-places,  and  to  the 
common  where  he  had  so  often  driven  his  snails  to  pasture ;  vi- 
sited the  peasant,  who,  from  school-times  upwards,  had  been  wont, 
to  the  amazement  of  the  rest,  to  thouu  him ;  went,  an  Academic 
Tutor,  to  the  Schoolmaster ;  then  to  the  Senior ;  then  to  the 
Episcopal-barn  or  church.  This  last  no  mortal  understands,  till 
I  explain  it.  The  case  was  this  :  some  three-and-forty  years  ago, 

13  Their  prayer-barrel,  Kiiriidu,  is  a  hollowed  shell,  a  calabash,  full  of  un- 
rolled formulas  of  prayer ;  they  sway  it  from  side  to  side,  and  then  it  works. 
More  philosophically  viewed,  since  in  prayer  the  feeling  only  is  of  consequence, 
it  is  much  the  same  whether  this  express  itself  by  motion  of  the  mouth  or  of  the 
calabash. 

14  In  German,  as  in  some  other  languages,  the  common  mode  of  address  is  by 
the  third  person  :  plural,  it  indicates  respect ;  singular,  command :  the  second 
person  is  also  used ;  plural,  it  generally  denotes  indifference  ;  singular,  great 
familiarity,  and  sometimes  its  product,  contempt.  Dutzenfreund,  Thouing -friend, 
is  the  strictest  term  of  intimacy ;  and  among  the  wild  Bnrschen  (Students)  many 
a  duel  (happily,  however,  often  ending  like  the  Polem  -Midinia  in  one  drop  of 
blood)  has  been  fought,  in  consequence  of  saying  Du  (th  u)  and  Sie  (they)  in  th* 
wrong  place. — Ed. 


328 


JEAN  PAVli  ERIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


a  fire  had  destroyed  the  church  (not  the  steeple),  the  parsonage, 
and — what  was  not  to  be  replaced — the  church-records.  (For 
this  reason,  it  was  only  the  smallest  portion  of  the  Hukelum 
people  that  knew  exactly  how  old  they  were ;  and  the  memory  of 
our  Quintus  himself  vibrated  between  adopting  the  thirty-third 
year  and  the  thirty-second.)  In  consequence,  the  preaching  had 
now  to  be  carried  on  where  formerly  there  had  been  thrashing ; 
and  the  seed  of  the  divine  word  to  be  turned  over  on  the  same 
threshing-floor  with  natural  corn -seed.  The  Chanter  and  the 
Schoolboys  took  up  the  threshing-floor;  the  female  mother-church- 
people  stood  on  the  one  sheaves-loft,  the  Schadeck  womankind 
on  the  other ;  and  their  husbands  clustered  pyramidically,  like 
groschen  and  farthing-gallery  men,  about  the  barn- stairs ;  and 
far  up  on  the  straw-loft,  mixed  souls  stood  listening.  A  little 
flute  was  their  organ,  an  upturned  beer-cask  their  altar,  round 
which  they  had  to  walk.  I  confess,  I  myself  could  have  preached 
in  such  a  place,  not  without  humour.  The  Senior  (at  that  time 
still  a  Junior),  while  the  parsonage  was  building,  dwelt  and  taught 
in  the  Castle  :  it  was  here,  accordingly,  that  Fixlein  had  learned 
the  Irregular  Verbs  with  Thiennette. 

These  voyages  of  discovery  completed,  our  Hukelum  voyager 
could  still,  after  evening  prayers,  pick  leaf-insects,  with  Thien- 
nette, from  the  roses ;  worms  from  the  beds,  and  a  Heaven  of 
joy  from  every  minute.  Every  dew-drop  was  coloured  as  with 
oil  of  cloves  and  oil  of  gladness ;  every  star  was  a  sparkle  from 
the  sun  of  happiness ;  and  in  the  closed  heart  of  the  maiden, 
there  lay  near  to  him,  behind  a  little  wall  of  separation  (as  near, 
to  the  Kighteous  man  behind  the  thin  wall  of  Life),  an  out- 
stretched blooming  Paradise  I  mean,  she  loved  him  a 

little. 

He  might  have  known  it,  perhaps.  But  to  his  compressed 
delight  he  gave  freer  vent,  as  he  went  to  bed,  by  early  recollec- 
tions on  the  stair.  For  in  his  childhood  he  had  been  accustomed, 
by  way  of  evening-prayer,  to  go  over,  under  his  coverlid,  as  it 
were,  a  rosary,  including  fourteen  Bible  Proverbs,  the  first  verse 
of  the  Psalm,  "  All  people  that  on  Earth,"  the  Tenth  Command- 
ment, and,  lastly,  a  long  blessing.  To  get  the  sooner  done  with 
it,  he  had  used  to  begin  his  devotion,  not  only  on  the  stair,  but 
before  leaving  that  place  where  Alexander  studied  men,  and  Sem- 
ler  stupid  books.  Moored  in  the  haven  of  the  down  waves,  he 
was  already  over  with  his  evening  supplication ,  and  could  now, 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


329 


without  farther  exertion,  shut  his  eyes  and  plump  into  sleep.  

Thus  does  there  lurk,  in  the  smallest  homunculus,  the  model  of 
— the  Catholic  Church. 

So  far  the  Dog-days  of  Quintus  Zebedaus  Egidius  Fixlein. — 
I,  for  the  second  time,  close  a  Chapter  of  this  Life,  as  Life  itself 
is  closed,  with  a  sleep. 


THIRD  LETTER-BOX. 

Christmas  Recollections.    New  Occurrence. 

For  all  of  us  the  passage  to  the  grave  is,  alas  !  a  string  of 
empty  insipid  days,  as  of  glass  pearls,  only  here  and  there  divided 
by  an  orient  one  of  price.  But  you  die  murmuring,  unless,  like  the 
Quintus,  you  regard  your  existence  as  a  drum  :  this  has  only  one 
single  tone,  but  variety  of  time  gives  the  sound  of  it  cheerfulness 
enough.  Our  Quintus  taught  in  the  Fourth  Class  ;  vicariated  in 
the  Second ;  wrote  at  his  desk  by  night ;  and  so  lived  on  in  the 
usual  monotonous  fashion — all  the  time  from  the  Holidays — till 
Christmas-eve,  1791 ;  and  nothing  was  remarkable  in  his  history 
except  this  same  eve,  which  I  am  now  about  to  paint. 

But  I  shall  still  have  time  to  paint  it,  after,  in  the  first  place, 
explaining  shortly  how,  like  birds  of  passage,  he  had  contrived 
to  soar  away  over  the  dim  cloudy  Harvest.  The  secret  was,  he 
set  upon  the  Hamburg  Political  Journal,  with  which  the  lackeys 
of  Schadeck  had  been  for  papering  their  buttons.  He  could  now 
calmly,  with  his  back  at  the  stove,  accompany  the  winter  cam- 
paigns of  the  foregoing  year ;  and  fly  after  every  battle,  as  the 
ravens  did  after  that  of  Pharsalia.  On  the  printed  paper  he  could 
still,  with  joy  and  admiration,  walk  round  our  German  triumphal 
arches  and  scaffoldings  for  fireworks  :  while  to  the  people  in  the 
town,  who  got  only  the  newest  newspapers,  the  very  fragments 
of  these  our  trophies,  maliciously  torn  down  by  the  French,  were 
scarcely  discernible ;  nay,  with  old  plans  he  could  drive  back  and 
discomfit  the  enemy,  while  later  readers  in  vain  tried  to  resist 
them  with  new  ones. 

Moreover,  not  only  did  the  facility  of  conquering  the  French 
prepossess  him  in  favour  of  this  journal ;  but  also  the  circum- 
stance that  it — cost  him  nothing.  His  attachment  to  gratis  read- 
ing was  decided.  And  does  not  this  throw  light  on  the  fact,  that 


3B0 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


he,  as  Morhof  advised,  was  wont  sedulously  to  collect  the  sepa- 
rate leaves  of  waste-paper  books  as  they  came  from  the  grocer, 
and  to  rake  among  the  same,  as  Virgil  did  in  Ennius  ?  Nay,  for 
him  the  grocer  was  a  Fortius  (the  scholar),  or  a  Frederick  (the 
king),  both  which  persons  were  in  the  habit  of  simply  cutting 
from  complete  books  such  leaves  as  contained  anything.  It  was 
also  this  respect  for  all  waste-paper  that  inspired  him  with  such 
esteem  for  the  aprons  of  French  cooks,  which  it  is  well  known 
consist  of  printed  paper  ;  and  he  often  wished  some  German  would 
translate  these  aprons  :  indeed  I  am  willing  to  believe  that  a  good 
version  of  more  than  one  of  such  paper  aprons  might  contribute 
to  elevate  our  Literature  (this  Muse  a  belles  f esses),  and  serve 
her  in  place  of  drivel-bib. — On  many  things  a  man  puts  a  pretium 
affectionis,  simply  because  he  hopes  he  may  have  half  stolen 
them  :  on  this  principle,  combined  with  the  former,  our  Quintus 
adopted  into  his  belief  anything  he  could  snap  away  from  an  open 
Lecture,  or  as  a  visitor  in  class-rooms ;  opinions  only  for  which 
the  Professor  must  be  paid,  he  rigorously  examined. — I  return  to 
the  Christmas -eve. 

At  the  very  first,  Egidius  was  glad,  because  out  of  doors 
millers  and  bakers  were  at  fisty- cuffs  (as  we  say  of  drifting  snow 
in  large  flakes),  and  the  ice-flowers  of  the  window  were  blossom- 
ing ;  for  external  frost,  with  a  snug  warm  room,  was  what  he 
liked.  He  could  now  put  fir-wood  into  his  stove,  and  Mocha 
coffee  into  his  stomach ;  and  shove  his  right  foot  (not  into  the 
slipper,  but)  under  the  warm  side  of  his  Shock,  and  also  on  the 
left  keep  swinging  his  pet  Starling,  which  was  pecking  at  the 
snout  of  old  Schil ;  and  then  with  the  right  hand — with  the  left 
he  was  holding  his  pipe — proceed,  so  undisturbed,  so  intrenched, 
so  cloud-capt,  without  the  smallest  breath  of  frost,  to  the  highest 
enterprise  which  a  Quintus  can  attempt, — to  writing  the  Class- 
prodromus  of  the  Flachsenfingen  Gymnasium,  namely,  the  eighth 
part  thereof.  I  hold  the  first  printing  in  the  history  of  a  literary 
man  to  be  more  important  than  the  first  printing  in  the  history 
of  Letters  :  Fixlein  could  not  sate  himself  with  specifying  what 
he  purposed,  God  willing,  in  the  following  year,  to  treat  of;  and 
accordingly,  more  for  the  sake  of  printing  than  of  use,  he  farther 
inserted  three  or  four  pedagogic  glances  at  the  plan  of  operations 
to  be  followed  by  his  schoolmaster  colleagues  as  a  body. 

He  lastly  introduced  a  few  dashes,  by  way  of  hooking  his 
thoughts  together ;  and  then  laid  aside  the  Opus,  and  would  no 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


331 


longer  look  at  it,  that  so,  when  printed,  he  might  stand  aston- 
ished at  his  own  thoughts.  And  now  he  could  take  the  Leipzig 
Fair  Catalogue,  which  he  purchased  yearly,  instead  of  the  books 
therein,  and  open  it  without  a  sigh :  he  too  was  in  print,  as  well 
as  I  am. 

The  happy  fool,  while  writing,  had  shaken  his  head,  rubbed 
his  hands,  hitched  about  on  his  chair,  puckered  his  face,  and 
sucked  the  end  of  his  cue. — He  could  now  spring  up  about  five 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  to  recreate  himself;  and  across  the  magic 
vapour  of  his  pipe,  like  a  new-caught  bird,  move  up  and  down  in 
his  cage.  On  the  warm  smoke,  the  long  galaxy  of  street-lamps 
was  gleaming ;  and  red  on  his  bed- curtains  lay  the  fitful  reflection 
of  the  blazing  windows,  and  illuminated  trees  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. And  now  he  shook  away  the  snow  of  Time  from  the  winter- 
green  of  Memory ;  and  beheld  the  fair  years  of  his  childhood, 
uncovered,  fresh,  green  and  balmy,  standing  afar  off  before  him. 
From  his  distance  of  twenty  years,  he  looked  into  the  quiet  cot- 
tage of  his  parents,  where  his  father  and  his  brother  had  not  yet 
been  reaped  away  by  the  sickle  of  Death.  He  said  to  himself : 
"  I  will  go  through  the  whole  Christmas-eve  from  the  very  dawn, 
as  I  had  it  of  old." 

At  his  very  rising  he  finds  spangles  on  the  table ;  sacred 
spangles  from  the  gold-leaf  and  silver-leaf,  with  which  the  Christ- 
child15  has  been  emblazoning  and  coating  his  apples  and  nuts,  the 
presents  of  the  night. — On  the  mint-balance  of  joy,  this  metallic 
foam  pulls  heavier  than  the  golden  calves,  and  golden  Pytha- 
goras'-legs,  and  golden  Philistine  -  mice  of  wealthier  capitalists. 
— Then  came  his  mother,  bringing  him  both  Christianity  and 
clothes :  for  in  drawing  on  his  trousers,  she  easily  recapitulated 
the  Ten  Commandments,  and,  in  tying  his  garters,  the  Apostles' 
Creed.  So  soon  as  candle-light  was  over,  and  day-light  come, 
he  clambers  to  the  arm  of  the  settle,  and  then  measures  the 
nocturnal  growth  of  the  yellow  wiry  grove  of  Christmas-Birch ; 
and  devotes  far  less  attention  than  usual  to  the  little  white  win- 
ter - flowerage,  which  the  seeds  shaken  from  the  bird-cage  are 
sending  forth  in  the  wet  joints  of  the  window-panes. — I  nowise 

15  These  antique  Christmas  festivities  Richter  describes  with  equal  gusto  in 
another  work  {Brief e  und  Zukunftige  Lebenslemf) ;  where  the  Christ-child  (falsely 
reported  to  the  young  ones,  to  have  been  seen  flying  through  the  ah*,  with  gold 
wings) ;  the  Birch-bough  fixed  in  a  corner  of  the  room,  and  by  him  made  to 
grow  ;  the  fruit,  of  gilt  sweetmeats,  apples,  nuts,  which  (for  good  boys)  it  sud- 
denly produces,  &c.  &c.  are  specified  with  the  same  fidelity  as  here. — Ed. 


332 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  R1CHTER. 


grudge  J.  J.  Rousseau  his  Flora  Petrinsularis  ;16  but  let  liim  also 
pJlow  oui  Quintus  his  Window -flora. — There  was  no  such  thing 
as  school  all  day ;  so  he  had  time  enough  to  seek  his  Butcher 
(his  brother),  and  commence  (when  could  there  be  finer  frost  for 
it  ?)  the  slaughtering  of  their  winter-meat.  Some  days  before, 
the  brother,  at  the  peril  of  his  life  and  of  a  cudgelling,  had  caught 
their  stalled-beast — so  they  called  the  sparrow — under  a  window- 
sill  in  the  Castle .  Their  slaughtering  wants  not  an  axe  (of  wood), 
nor  puddings,  nor  potted  meat. — About  three  o'clock  the  old 
Gardener,  whom  neighbours  have  to  call  the  Professor  of  Garden- 
ing, takes  his  place  on  his  large  chair,  with  his  Cologne  tobacco- 
pipe  ;  and  after  this  no  mortal  shall  work  a  stroke.  He  tells 
nothing  but  lies  ;  of  the  aeronautic  Christ-child,  and  the  jingling 
Ruprecht  with  his  bells.  In  the  dusk,  our  little  Quintus  takes 
an  apple  ;  divides  it  into  all  the  figures  of  stereometry,  and  spreads 
the  fragments  in  two  heaps  on  the  table  :  then  as  the  lighted 
candle  enters,  he  starts  up  in  amazement  at  the  unexpected  pre- 
sent, and  says  to  his  brother  :  "  Look  what  the  good  Christ-child 
has  given  thee  and  me  ;  and  I  saw  one  of  his  wings  glittering." 
And  for  this  same  glittering  he  himself  lies  in  wait  the  whole 
evening. 

About  eight  o'clock, — here  he  walks  chiefly  by  the  chronicle 
of  his  letter-drawer, — both  of  them,  with  necks  almost  excoriated 
with  washing,  and  in  clean  linen,  and  in  universal  anxiety  lest 
the  Holy  Christ-child  find  them  up,  are  put  to  bed.  What  a  magic 
night ! — What  tumult  of  dreaming  hopes ! — The  populous,  motley, 
glittering  cave  of  Fancy  opens  itself,  in  the  length  of  the  night, 
and  in  the  exhaustion  of  dreamy  effort,  still  darker  and  darker, 
fuller  and  more  grotesque ;  but  the  awakening  gives  back  to  the 
thirsty  heart  its  hopes.  All  accidental  tones,  the  cries  of  animals, 
of  watchmen,  are,  for  the  timidly  devout  Fancy,  sounds  out  of 
Heaven;  singing  voices  of  Angels  in  the  air,  church-music  of  the 
morning  worship. 

Ah  !  it  was  not  the  mere  Lubberland  of  sweetmeats  and  play- 
things which  then,  with  its  perspective,  stormed  like  a  river  of 
joy  against  the  chambers  of  our  hearts ;  and  which  yet,  in  the 
moonlight  of  memory,  with  its  dusky  landscapes,  melts  our  souls 
in  sweetness.  Ah  !  this  was  it,  that  then  for  our  boundless  wishes 
there  were  still  boundless  hopes  :  but  now  reality  is  round  us,  and 
the  wishes  are  all  that  we  have  left ! 
ifi  Which  he  purposed  to  make  for  his  Island  of  St.  Pierre  in  the  Bienne  Lake. 


LIFE  OF  QTJFNTUS  FIXLEIN. 


333 


At  last  came  rapid  lights  from  the  neighbourhood  playing 
through  the  window  on  the  walls,  and  the  Christmas  trumpets, 
and  the  crowing  from  the  steeple,  hurries  both  the  boys  from 
their  bed.  With  their  clothes  in  their  hands,  without  fear  for  the 
darkness,  without  feeling  for  the  morning-frost,  rushing,  intoxi- 
cated, shouting,  they  hurry  down- stairs  into  the  dark  room.  Fancy 
riots  in  the  pastry  and  fruit-perfume  of  the  still  eclipsed  trea- 
sures, and  paints  her  air-castles  by  the  glimmering  of  the  Hes- 
perides-fruit  with  which  the  Birch-tree  is  loaded.  While  their 
mother  strikes  a  light,  the  falling  sparks  sportfully  open  and 
shroud  the  dainties  on  the  table,  and  the  many-coloured  grove 
on  the  wall ;  and  a  single  atom  of  that  fire  bears  on  it  a  hanging 
garden  of  Eden.  

— On  a  sudden  all  grew  light ;  and  the  Quintus  got — the 
Conrectorship,  and  a  table-clock. 


FOURTH  LETTER-BOX. 

Office -brokage.    Discovery  of  the  promised  Secret.    Hans  von  Fiichslein. 

For  while  the  Quintus,  in  his  vapoury  chamber,  was  thus  run- 
ning over  the  sounding-board  of  his  early  years,  the  Rathsdiener, 
or  City-officer,  entered  with  a  lantern  and  the  Presentation ;  and 
behind  him  the  courier  of  the  Frau  von  Aufhammer  with  a  note 
and  a  table-clock.  The  Rittmeisterinn  had  transformed  her  pay- 
ment for  the  Dog-days  sickbed-exhortation  into  a  Christmas  pre- 
sent ;  which  consisted,  first,  of  a  table-clock,  with  a  wooden  ape 
thereon,  starting  out  when  the  hours  struck,  and  drumming  along 
with  every  stroke  ;  secondly,  of  the  Conrectorate,  which  she  had 
procured  for  him. 

As  in  the  public  this  appointment  from  the  private  Flachsen- 
fingen  Council  has  not  been  judged  of  as  it  deserved,  I  consider 
it  my  duty  to  offer  a  defence  for  the  body  corporate ;  and  that 
rather  here,  than  in  the  Reichsanzeiger,  or  Imperial  Indicator. 
— I  have  already  mentioned,  in  the  Second  Letter-Box,  that  the 
Town- Syndic  drove  a  trade  in  Hamburg  candles ;  and  the  then 
Biirgermeister  in  coffee-beans,  which  he  sold  as  well  whole  as 
ground.  Their  joint  traffic,  however,  which  they  carried  on  ex- 
clusively, was  in  the  eight  School- offices  of  Flachsenfingen  :  the 
other  members  of  the  Council  acting  only  as  bale-wrappers,  shop- 


334 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  EICHTEK. 


men  and  accountants  in  the  Council  wareroom.  A  Council-house, 
indeed,  is  like  an  India-house,  where  not  only  resolutions  or  ap- 
pointments, but  also  shoes  and  cloth,  are  exposed  to  sale.  Pro- 
perly speaking,  the  Councillor  derives  his  freedom  of  office-trading 
from  that  principle  of  the  Roman  law  :  Cuijus  est  donandi,  eidem 
et  vendendi  jus  est,  that  is  to  say,  He  who  has  the  right  of  giv- 
ing anything  away,  has  also  a  right  to  dispose  of  it  for  money,  if 
he  can.  Now  as  the  Council-members  have  palpably  the  right  of 
conferring  offices  gratis,  the  right  of  selling  them  must  follow  of 
course. 

Short  Extra-xcord  on  Appointment-bro Jeers  in  general. 

My  chief  anxiety  is  lest  the  Acaclemy-product-sale-Commis- 
sion17  of  the  State  carry  on  its  office-trade  too  slackly.  And  what 
but  the  commonweal  must  suffer  in  the  long-run,  if  important 
posts  are  distributed,  not  according  to  the  current  cash,  which  is 
laid  down  for  them,  but  according  to  connexions,  relationships, 
party  recommendations,  and  bowings  and  cringings  ?  Is  it  not  a 
contradiction,  to  charge  titulary  offices  dearer  than  real  ones  ? 
Should  not  one  rather  expect  that  the  real  Hofrath  would  pay 
higher  by  the  alterum  tantum  than  the  mere  titulary  Hofrath  ? — 
Money,  among  European  nations,  is  now  the  equivalent  and  re- 
presentative of  value  in  all  things,  and  consequently  in  under- 
standing ;  the  rather  as  a  head  is  stamped  on  it :  to  pay  down 
the  purchase-money  of  an  office  is  therefore  neither  more  nor  less 
than  to  stand  an  examen  rigorosum,  which  is  held  by  a  good 
schema  examinandi.  To  invert  this,  to  pretend  exhibiting  your 
qualifications,  in  place  of  these  their  surrogates,  and  assignates 
and  monnoie  de  confiance,  is  simply  to  resemble  the  crazy  philo- 
sophers in  Gulliver's  Travels,  who,  for  social  converse,  instead 
of  names  of  things,  brought  the  things  themselves  tied  up  in  a 
bag ;  it  is,  indeed,  plainly  as  much  as  trying  to  fall  back  into  the 
barbarous  times  of  trade  by  barter,  when  the  Romans,  instead  of 
the  figured  cattle  on  their  leather  money,  drove  forth  the  beeves 
themselves. 

From  all  such  injudicious  notions  I  myself  am  so  far  removed, 
that  often  when  I  used  to  read  that  the  King  of  France  was  de- 
vising new  offices,  to  stand  and  sell  them  under  the  booth  ox  his 
Baldaquin,  I  have  set  myself  to  do  something  of  the  like.  This 
I  shall  now  at  least  calmly  propose  ;  not  vexing  my  heart  whether 

17  Borrowed  from  the  "  Imperial  Mine-product-sale-Commission,"  in  Vienna: 
in  their  very  names  these  Vienna  people  show  taste. 


Life  of  quintus  fixlein. 


835 


Governments  choose  to  adopt  it  or  not.  As  our  Sovereign  will 
not  allow  us  tc  multiply  offices  purely  for  sale,  nay,  on  the  con- 
trary, is  clay  and  night  (like  managers  of  strolling  companies) 
meditating  how  to  give  more  parts  to  one  State-actor ;  and  thus 
to  the  Three  Stage  Unities  to  add  a  Fourth,  that  of  Players  ;  as 
the  ahove  French  method,  therefore,  will  not  apply,  could  not  we 
at  least  contrive  to  invent  some  Virtues  harmonising  with  the 
offices,  along  with  which  they  might  be  sold  as  titles  ?  Might  we 
not,  for  instance,  with  the  office  of  a  Referendary,  put  off  at  the 
same  time  a  titular  Incorruptibility,  for  a  fair  consideration ;  and 
so  that  this  virtue,  as  not  belonging  to  the  office,  must  be  sepa- 
rately paid  for  by  the  candidate  ?  Such  a  market-title  and  patent 
of  nobility  could  not  but  be  ornamental  to  a  Referendary.  We 
forget  that  in  former  times  such  high  titles  were  appended  to  all 
posts  whatsoever  :  the  scholastic  Professor  then  wrote  himself 
(besides  his  official  designation)  "  The  Seraphic/'  "  The  Incon- 
trovertible," "  The  Penetrating;"  the  King  wrote  himself  "  The 
Great,"  "  The  Bald,"  "  The  Bold,"  and  so  also  did  the  Rabbins. 
Could  it  be  unpleasant  to  gentlemen  in  the  higher  stations  of 
Justice,  if  the  titles  of  Impartiality,  Rapidity,  &c.  might  be  con- 
ferred on  them  by  sale,  as  well  as  the  posts  themselves  ?  Thus 
with  the  appointment  of  a  Kammerrath,  or  Councillor  of  Revenue, 
the  virtue  of  Patriotism  might  fitly  be  conjoined ;  and  I  believe, 
few  Advocates  would  grudge  purchasing  the  title  of  Integrity  (as 
well  as  their  common  one  of  Government-advocacy),  were  it  to  be 
had  in  the  market.  If,  however,  any  candidate  chose  to  take  his 
post  without  the  virtues,  then  it  would  stand  with  himself  to  do 
so,  and  in  the  adoption  of  this  reflex  morality,  Government  should 
not  constrain  him. 

It  might  be  that,  as,  according  to  Tristram  Shandy,  clothes  ; 
according  to  Walter  Shandy  and  Lavater,  proper  names  exert  an 
influence  on  men,  appellatives  would  do  so  still  more ;  since,  on 
us,  as  on  testaceous  animals,  the  foam  so  often  hardens  into 
shell:  but  such  internal  morality  is  not  a  thing  the  State  can 
have  an  eye  to;  for,  as  in  the  fine  arts,  it  is  not  this,  but  the 
representation  of  it,  which  forms  her  true  aim. 

I  have  found  it  rather  difficult  to  devise  for  our  different  offices 
different  verbal  -  virtues  ;  but  I  should  think  there  might  many 
such  divisions  of  Virtue  (at  this  moment,  Love  of  Freedom, 
Public -spirit,  Sincerity  and  Uprightness  occur  to  me)  be  hunted 
out ;  were  but  some  well-disposed  minister  of  state  to  appoint  a 


336 


JEA.N  PAUL  FBIEDRICH  RICHTEIt. 


Virtue-board  or  Moral  Address  Department,  with  some  half  dozen 
secretaries,  who,  for  a  small  salary,  might  devise  various  virtues 
for  the  various  posts.  Were  I  in  their  place,  I  should  hold  a 
good  prism  before  the  white  ray  of  Virtue,  and  divide  it  com- 
pletely. Pity  that  it  were  not  crimes  we  wanted — their  sub- 
division I  mean  ; — our  country  Judges  might  then  be  selected  for 
this  purpose.  For  in  their  tribunals,  where  only  inferior  jurisdic- 
tion, and  no  penalty  above  five  'florins  Frankish,  is  admitted,  they 
have  a  daily  training  how  out  of  every  mischief  to  make  several 
small  ones,  none  of  which  they  ever  punish  to  a  greater  amount 
than  their  five  florins.  This  is  a  precious  moral  Rolfinkenism, 
which  our  Jurists  have  learned  from  the  great  Sin- cutters,  St. 
Augustin  and  his  Sorbonne,  who  together  have  carved  more  sins 
on  Adam's  Sin-apple  than  ever  Rolfinken  did  faces  on  a  cherry- 
stone. How  different  one  of  our  Judges  from  a  Papal  Casuist, 
who,  by  side- scrapings,  will  rasp  you  down  the  best  deadly  sin 
into  a  venial ! — 

School-offices  (to  come  to  these)  are  a  small  branch  of  traffic 
certainly ;  yet  still  they  are  monarchies, — school-monarchies,  to 
wit, — resembling  the  Polish  crown,  which,  according  to  Pope's 
verse,  is  twice  exposed  to  sale  in  the  century ;  a  statement,  I 
need  hardly  say,  arithmetically  false,  Newton  having  settled  the 
average  duration  of  a  reign  at  twenty- two  years.  For  the  rest, 
whether  the  city  Council  bring  the  young  of  the  community  a 
Hameln  Rat-and-Child-catcher  ;  or  a  Weisse's  Child's -friend, — 
this  to  the  Council  can  make  no  difference ;  seeing  the  School- 
master is  not  a  horse,  for  whose  secret  defects  the  horse-dealer  is 
to  be  responsible.  It  is  enough  if  Town- Syndic  and  Co.  cannot 
reproach  themselves  with  having  picked  out  any  fellow  of  genius  ; 
for  a  genius,  as  he  is  useless  to  the  State,  except  for  recreation 
and  ornament,  would  at  the  very  least  exclude  the  duller,  cooler 
head,  who  properly  forms  the  true  care  and  profit  of  the  State ; 
as  your  costly  carat-pearl  is  good  for  show  alone,  but  coarse  grain- 
pearls  for  medicine.  On  the  whole,  if  a  schoolmaster  be  adequate 
to  flog  his  scholars,  it  should  suffice ;  and  I  cannot  but  blame 
our  Commission  of  Inspectors  when  they  go  examining  schools, 
that  they  do  not  make  the  schoolmaster  go  through  the  duty  of 
firking  one  or  two  young  persons  of  his  class  in  their  presence, 
by  way  of  trial,  to  see  what  is  in  him. 

Wnd  of  the  Extra-word  on  Appointment-brokers  in  general. 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


337 


Now  again  to  our  history  !  The  Councillor  Heads  of  the  Firm 
had  conferred  the  Conrectorate  on  my  hero,  not  only  with  a  view 
to  the  continued  consumpt  of  candles  and  beans,  but  also  on  the 
strength  of  a  quite  mad  notion  :  they  believed,  the  Quintus  would 
very  soon  die. 

— And  here  I  have  reached  a  most  important  circumstance  in 
this  History,  and  one  into  which  I  have  yet  let  no  mortal  look : 
now,  however,  it  no  longer  depends  on  my  will  whether  I  shall 
shove  aside  the  folding- screen  from  it  or  not ;  but  I  must  posi- 
tively lay  it  open,  nay  hang  a  reverberating-lamp  over  it. 

In  medical  history,  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  in  certain 
families  the  people  all  die  precisely  at  the  same  age,  just  as 
in  these  families  they  are  all  born  at  the  same  age  (of  nine 
months) ;  nay,  from  Voltaire,  I  recollect  one  family,  the  members 
of  which  at  the  same  age  all  killed  themselves.  Now,  in  the  Fix- 
leinic  lineage,  it  was  the  custom  that  the  male  ascendants  uni- 
formly on  Cantata- Sunday,  in  their  thirty- second  year,  took  to 
bed  and  died :  every  one  of  my  readers  would  do  well  to  insert 
in  his  copy  of  the  Thirty -Years  War,  Schiller  having  entirely 
omitted  it,  the  fact,  that  in  the  course  thereof,  one  Fixlein  died 
of  the  plague,  another  of  hunger,  another  of  a  musket-bullet ;  all 
in  their  thirty-second  year.  True  Philosophy  explains  the  matter 
thus  :  "  The  first  two  or  three  times,  it  happened  purely  by  acci- 
dent ;  and  the  other  times,  the  people  died  of  sheer  fright  :  if 
not  so,  the  whole  fact  is  rather  to  be  questioned." 

But  what  did  Fixlein  make  of  the  affair  ?  Little  or  nothing  : 
the  only  thing  he  did  was,  that  he  took  little  or  no  pains  to  fall 
in  love  with  Thiennette ;  that  so  no  other  might  have  cause  for 
fear  on  his  account.  He  himself,  however,  for  five  reasons,  minded 
it  so  little,  that  he  hoped  to  be  older  than  Senior  Astmann  before 
he  died :  First,  because  three  Gipsies,  in  three  different  places 
and  at  three  different  times,  had  each  shown  him  the  same  long 
vista  of  years  in  her  magic  mirror.  Secondly,  because  he  had  a 
sound  constitution.  Thirdly,  because  his  own  brother  had  formed 
an  exception,  and  perished  before  the  thirties.  Fourthly,  on  this 
ground :  When  a  boy  he  had  fallen  sick  of  sorrow,  on  the  very 
Cantata- Sunday  when  his  father  was  lying  in  the  winding-sheet, 
and  only  been  saved  from  death  by  his  playthings ;  and  with  this 
Cantata-sickness,  he  conceived  that  he  had  given  the  murderous 
Genius  of  his  race  the  slip.  Fifthly,  the  church -books  being 
destroyed,  and  with  them  the  certainty  of  his  age, -he  could  neve* 

VOL.  III.  z 


338 


JEAM  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


fall  into  a  right  definite  deadly  fear:  "  It  maybe,"  said  he,  "  that 
I  have  got  whisked  away  over  this  whoreson  year,  and  no  one 
the  wiser."  I  will  not  deny  that  last  year  he  had  fancied  he  was 
two-and- thirty :  "  however,"  said  he,  4 £  if  I  am  not  to  he  so  till, 
God  willing,  the  next  (1792),  it  may  run  away  as  smoothly  as 
the  last ;  am  I  not  always  in  His  keeping  ?  And  were  it  unjust 
if  the  pretty  years  that  were  broken  off  from  the  life  oi  my  brother 
should  be  added  to  mine  ?" — Thus,  under  the  cold  snow  of  the 
Present,  does  poor  man  strive  to  warm  himself,  or  to  mould  out 
of  it  a  fair  snow-man. 

The  Councillor  Oligarchy,  however,  built  upon  the  opposite 
opinion ;  and,  like  a  Divinity,  elevated  our  Quintus  all  at  once 
from  the  Quintusship  to  the  Conrectorate ;  swearing  to  them- 
selves, that  he  would  soon  vacate  it  again.  Properly  speaking, 
by  school- seniority,  this  holy  chair  should  have  belonged  to  the 
Subrector  Hans  von  Fiichslein  ;  but  he  wished  it  not ;  being 
minded  to  become  Hukelum  Parson ;  especially,  as  Astmann's 
Death -angel,  according  to  sure  intelligence,  was  opening  more 
and  more  widely  the  door  of  this  spiritual  sheepfold.  * '  If  the 
fellow  weather  another  year,  'tis  more  than  I  expect,"  said  Hans. 

This  Hans  was  such  a  churl,  that  it  is  pity  he  had  not  been 
a  Hanoverian  Postboy ;  that  so,  by  the  Mandate  of  the  Hanoverian 
Government,  enjoining  on  all  its  Post-officers  an  elegant  style  oi 
manners,  he  might  have  somewhat  refined  himself.  To  our  poor 
Quintus,  whom  no  mortal  disliked,  and  who  again  could  hate  no 
mortal,  he  alone  bore  a  grudge ;  simply  because  Fixlein  did  not 
write  himself  Fiichslein,  and  had  not  chosen  along  with  him  to 
purchase  a  Patent  of  Nobility.  The  Subrector,  on  this  his  Patent 
triumphal  chariot,  drawn  by  a  team  of  four  specified  ancestors, 
was  obliged  to  see  the  Quintus,  who  was  related  to  him,  clutching 
by  the  lackey-straps  behind  the  carriage  ;  and  to  hear  him,  in  the 
most  despicable  raiment,  saying  to  the  train :  ' '  He  that  rides  there 
is  my  cousin,  and  a  mortal,  and  I  always  remind  him  of  it."  The 
mild  compliant  Quintus  never  noticed  this  large  wasp-poisonbag 
in  the  Subrector,  but  took  it  for  a  honeybag ;  nay,  by  his  brotherly 
warmness,  which  the  nobleman  regarded  as  mere  show,  he  con- 
creted these  venomous  juices  into  still  feller  consistency.  The 
Quintus,  in  his  simplicity,  took  Fiichslein' s  contempt  for  envy  oi 
Ids  pedagogic  talents. 

A  Catherinenhof,  an  Annenhof,  an  Elizabethhof,  Stralenhof 
r.nd  Petershof,  all  these  Kussian  pleasure  palaces,  a  man  can  dis- 


LIFE  OF  QlTINTUS  FIXLZIN. 


389 


pense  with  (if  not  despise),  who  has  a  room,  in  which  on  Christ- 
mas-eve he  walks  about  with  a  Presentation  in  his  hand.  The 
new  Conrector  now  longed  for  nothing  but — daylight :  joys  always 
(cares  never)  nibbled  from  him,  like  sparrows,  his  sleep -grains  ; 
and  tonight,  moreover,  the  registrator  of  his  glad  time,  the  clock- 
ape,  drummed  out  every  hour  to  him,  which,  accordingly,  he  spent 
in  gay  dreaming,  rather  than  in  sound  snoring. 

On  Christmas-morn,  he  looked  at  his  Class -prodromus,  and 
thought  but  little  of  it ;  he  scarcely  knew  what  to  make  of  his  last 
night's  foolish  inflation  about  his  Quintusship  :  "  the  Quintus- 
post,"  said  he  to  himself,  "  is  not  to  be  named  in  the  same  day 
with  the  Conrectorate  ;  I  wonder  how  I  could  parade  so  last  night 
before  my  promotion  ;  at  present,  I  had  more  reason."  Today  he 
ate,  as  on  all  Sundays  and  holydays,  with  the  Master-Butcher 
Steinberger,  his  former  Guardian.  To  this  man,  Fixlein  was, 
what  common  people  are  always,  but  polished  philosophical  and 
sentimental  people  very  seldom  are, — thankful:  a  man  thanks 
you  the  less  for  presents,  the  more  inclined  he  is  to  give  presents 
of  his  own  ;  and  the  beneficent  is  rarely  a  grateful  person.  Meister 
Steinberger,  in  the  character  of  store-master,  had  introduced  into 
the  wire-cage  of  a  garret,  where  Fixlein,  while  a  Student  at  Leipzig, 
was  suspended,  many  a  well-filled  trough  with  good  canary-meat, 
of  hung-beef,  of  household  bread  and  Sauerkraut.  Money  indeed 
was  never  to  be  wrung  from  him :  it  is  well  known  that  he  often 
sent  the  best  calfskins  gratis  to  the  tanner,  to  be  boots  for  our 
Quintus  ;  but  the  tanning-charges  the  Ward  himself  had  to  bear. 
— On  Fixlein' s  entrance,  as  was  at  all  times  customary,  a  smaller 
damask  table-cloth  was  laid  upon  the  large  coarser  one ;  the  arm- 
chair ;  silver  implements,  and  a  wine-stoup  were  handed  him ; 
mere  waste,  which,  as  the  Guardian  used  to  say,  suited  well 
enough  for  a  Scholar ;  but  for  a  Flesher  not  at  all.  Fixlein  first 
took  his  victuals,  and  then  signified  that  he  was  made  Conrector. 
1 '  Ward,"  said  Steinberger;  "  if  you  are  made  that,  it  is  well. — 
Seest  thou,  Eva,  I  cannot  buy  a  tail  of  thy  cows  now ;  I  must 
have  smelt  it  beforehand."  He  was  hereby  informing  his  daughter 
that  the  cash  set  apart  for  the  fatted  cattle  must  now  be  applied 
to  the  Conrectorate ;  for  he  was  in  the  habit  of  advancing  all  in- 
stalment-dues to  his  ward,  at  an  interest  of  four  and  a  half  per 
cent.  Fifty  gulden  he  had  already  lent  the  Quintus  on  his  ad 
vancement  to  the  Quintusship :  of  these  the  interest  had  to  be 
duly  paid ;  yet,  on  the  day  of  payment,  the  Quintus  alwaj  4  got 


340 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


some  abatement ;  being  wont  every  Sunday  after  dinner  to  instruct 
his  guardian's  daughter  in  arithmetic,  writing  and  geography. 
Steinberger  with  justice  required  of  his  own  grown-up  daughter 
that  she  should  know  all  the  towns,  where  he  in  his  wanderings 
as  a  journeyman  had  slain  fat  oxen  ;  and  if  she  slipped,  or  wrote 
crookedly,  or  subtracted  wrong,  he  himself,  as  Academical  Senate 
and  Justiciary,  was  standing  behind  her  chair,  ready,  so  to  speak, 
with  the  forge-hammer  of  his  fist  to  beat  out  the  dross  from  her 
brain,  and  at  a  few  strokes  hammer  it  into  right  ductility.  The 
soft  Quintus,  for  his  part,  had  never  struck  her.  On  this  account 
she  had  perhaps,  with  a  few  glances,  appointed  him  executor  and 
assignee  of  her  heart.  The  old  Flesher — simply  because  his  wife 
was  dead — had  constantly  been  in  the  habit  of  searching  with 
mine-lamps  and  pokers  into  all  the  corners  of  Eva's  heart ;  and 
had  in  consequence  long  ago  observed — what  the  Quintus  never 
did — that  she  had  a  mind  for  the  said  Quintus.  Young  women 
conceal  their  sorrows  more  easily  than  their  joys :  today  at  the 
mention  of  this  Conrectorate,  Eva  had  become  unusually  red. 

When  she  went  after  breakfast  to  bring  in  coffee,  which  the 
Ward  had  to  drink  down  to  the  grounds  :  "  I  beat  Eva  to  death  if 
she  but  look  at  him,"  said  he.  Then  addressing  Fixlein:  "  Hear 
you,  Ward,  did  you  never  cast  an  eye  on  my  Eva  ?  She  can  suffer 
you,  and  if  you  want  her,  you  get  her  ;  but  we  have  done  with  one 
another:  for  a  learned  man  needs  quite  another  sort  of  thing." 

' '  Herr  Regiments -Quartermaster,"  said  Fixlein  (for  this  post 
Steinberger  filled  in  the  provincial  Militia),  "  such  a  match  were 
far  too  rich,  at  any  rate,  for  a  Schoolman."  The  Quartermaster 
nodded  fifty  times  ;  and  then  said  to  Eva,  as  she  returned, — at  the 
same  time  taking  down  from  the  shelf  a  wooden  crook,  on  which 
he  used  to  rack  out  and  suspend  his  slain  calves  :  "  Stop  ! — Hark, 
dost  wish  the  present  Herr  Conrector  here  for  thy  husband  ?"  » 

"  Ah,  good  Heaven  !"  said  Eva. 

"  Mayst  wish  him  or  not,"  continued  the  Flesher ;  ' '  with  this 
crook,  thy  father  knocks  thy  brains  out,  if  thou  but  think  of  a 
learned  man.  Now  make  his  coffee."  And  so  by  the  dissevering 
stroke  of  this  wooden  crook  was  a  love  easily  smitten  asunder, 
which  in  a  higher  rank,  by  such  cutting  through  it  with  the  sword, 
would  only  have  foamed  and  hissed  the  keenlier. 

Fixlein  might  now,  at  any  hour  he  liked,  lay  hold  oi  fifty  florins 
Frankish,  and  clutch  the  pedagogic  sceptre,  and  become  coadjutor 
of  the  Rector,  that  is,  Conrector.  We  may  assert,  that  it  is  with 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLETN. 


841 


debts,  as  with  proportions  in  Architecture  ;  of  which  Wolf  has 
shown  that  those  are  the  best,  which  can  be  expressed  in  the 
smallest  numbers.  Nevertheless,  the  Quartermaster  cheerfully 
took  learned  men  under  his  arm :  for  the  notion  that  his  debtoi 
would  decease  in  his  thirty- second  year,  and  that  so  Death,  as 
creditor  in  the  first  rank,  must  be  paid  his  Debt  of  Nature,  before 
the  other  creditors  could  come  forward  with  their  debts  —  this 
notion  he  named  stuff  and  oldwifery ;  he  was  neither  superstitious 
nor  fanatical,  and  he  walked  by  firm  principles  of  action,  such  as 
the  common  man  much  oftener  has  than  your  vapouring  man  of 
letters,  or  your  empty  dainty  man  of  rank. 

As  it  is  but  a  few  clear  Ladydays,  warm  Mayday-nights,  at  the 
most  a  few  odorous  Rose-weeks,  which  I  am  digging  from  this 
Fixleinic  Life,  embedded  in  the  dross  of  week-day  cares ;  and  as 
if  they  were  so  many  veins  of  silver,  am  separating,  stamping, 
smelting  and  burnishing  for  the  reader, — I  must  now  travel  on 
with  the  stream  of  his  history  to  Cantata- Sunday,  1792,  before  I 
can  gather  a  few  handfuls  of  this  gold-dust,  to  carry  in  and  wash 
in  my  biographical  gold-hut.  That  Sunday,  on  the  contrary,  is 
very  metalliferous  :  do  but  consider  that  Fixlein  is  yet  uncertain 
(the  ashes  of  the  Church-books  not  being  legible)  whether  it  is 
conducting  him  into  his  thirty-second  or  his  thirty-third  year. 

From  Christmas  till  then  he  did  nothing,  but  simply  became 
Conrector.  The  new  chair  of  office  was  a  Sun-altar,  on  which, 
from  his  Quintus-ashes,  a  young  Phoenix  combined  itself  together. 
Great  changes — in  offices,  marriages,  travels — make  us  younger ; 
we  always  date  our  history  from  the  last  revolution,  as  the  French 
have  done  from  theirs.  A  colonel,  who  first  set  foot  on  the  ladder 
of  seniority  as  corporal,  is  five  times  younger  than  a  king,  who  in 
his  whole  life  has  never  been  aught  else  except  a — crown-prince. 


FIFTH  LETTER-BOX. 

Cantata- Sunday.    Two  Testaments.    Pontac  ;  Blood ;  Love. 

The  Spring  months  clothe  the  earth  in  new  variegated  hues  ; 
but  man  they  usually  dress  in  black.  Just  when  our  icy  regions 
are  becoming  fruitful,  and  the  flower-waves  of  the  meadows  are 
rolling  together  over  our  quarter  of  the  globe,  we  on  all  hands 
meet  with  men  in  sables,  the  beginning  of  whose  Spring  is  full 


342 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


of  tears.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  this  very  uphlooming  of  the 
renovated  earth  is  itself  the  best  balm  for  sorrow  over  those  who 
lie  under  it ;  and  graves  are  better  hid  by  blossoms  than  by  snow. 

In  April,  which  is  no  less  deadly  than  it  is  fickle,  old  Senior 
Astmann,  our  Conrector's  teacher,  was  overtaken  by  death.  His 
departure  it  was  meant  to  hide  from  the  Kittmeisterinn ;  but  the 
unusual  ringing  of  funereal  peals  carried  his  swan- song  to  her 
heart ;  and  gradually  set  the  curfew-bell  of  her  life  into  similar 
movement.  Age  and  sufferings  had  already  marked  out  the  first 
incisions  for  Death,  so  that  he  required  but  little  effort  to  cut  her 
down ;  for  it  is  with  men  as  with  trees,  they  are  notched  long 
before  felling,  that  their  life-sap  may  exude.  The  second  stroke 
of  apoplexy  was  soon  followed  by  the  last :  it  is  strange  that 
Death,  like  criminal  courts,  cites  the  apoplectic  thrice. 

Men  are  apt  to  postpone  their  last  will  as  long  as  their  better 
one  :  the  Eittmeisterinn  would  perhaps  have  let  all  her  hours,  till 
the  speechless  and  deaf  one,  roll  away  without  testament,  had 
not  Thiennette,  during  the  last  night,  before  from  sick-nurse  she 
became  corpse  -  watcher,  reminded  the  patient  of  the  poor  Con- 
rector,  and  of  his  meagre  hunger  -  bitten  existence,  and  of  the 
scanty  aliment  and  board-wages  which  Fortune  had  thrown  him, 
and  of  his  empty  Future,  where,  like  a  drooping  yellow  plant  in 
the  parched  deal -box  of  the  schoolroom  between  scholars  and 
creditors,  he  must  languish  to  the  end.  Her  own  poverty  offered 
her  a  model  of  his  ;  and  her  inward  tears  were  the  fluid  tints  with 
which  she  coloured  her  picture.  As  the  Eittmeisterinn 's  testa- 
ment related  solely  to  domestics  and  dependents,  and  as  she 
began  with  the  male  ones,  Fixlein  stood  at  the  top ;  and  Death, 
who  must  have  been  a  special  friend  of  the  Conrector's,  did  not 
lift  his  scythe  and  give  the  last  stroke  till  his  protegee  had  been 
with  audible  voice  declared  testamentary  heir;  then  he  cut  all 
away,  life,  testament  and  hopes. 

When  the  Conrector,  in  a  wash-bill  from  his  mother,  received 
these  two  Death's-posts  and  Job's-posts  in  his  class,  the  first 
thing  he  did  was  to  dismiss  his  class -boys,  and  break  into  tears 
before  reaching  home.  Though  the  mother  had  informed  him  that 
he  had  been  remembered  in  the  will  (I  could  wish,  however,  that 
the  Notary  had  blabbed  how  much  it  was),  yet  almost  with  every 
O  which  he  masoretically  excerpted  from  his  German  Bible,  and 
entered  in  his  Masoretic  Work,  great  drops  fell  down  on  his  pen, 
and  made  his  black  ink  pale.    His  sorrow  was  not  the  gorgeous 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


343 


bOirow  of  the  Poet,  who  veils  the  gaping  wounds  of  the  departed 
in  the  winding-sheet,  and  breaks  the  cry  of  anguish  in  soft  tones 
of  plaintiveness ;  nor  the  sorrow  of  the  Philosopher,  who,  through 
one  open  grave,  must  look  into  the  whole  catacomb-Necropolis  of 
the  Past,  and  before  whom  the  spectre  of  a  friend  expands  into 
the  spectral  Shadow  of  this  whole  Earth  :  but  it  was  the  woe  of 
a  child,  of  a  mother,  whom  this  thought  itself,  without  subsidiary 
reflections,  bitterly  cuts  asunder:  "  So  I  shall  never  more  see 
thee ;  so  must  thou  moulder  away,  and  I  shall  never  see  thee, 
thou  good  soul,  never,  never  any  more  !" — And  even  because  he 
neither  felt  the  philosophical  nor  the  poetical  sadness,  every  trifle 
could  make  a  division,  a  break  in  his  mourning ;  and,  like  a  wo- 
man, he  was  that  very  evening  capable  of  sketching  some  plans 
for  the  future  employment  of  his  legacy. 

Four  weeks  after,  to  wit,  on  the  5th  of  May,  the  testament  was 
unsealed ;  but  not  till  the  6th  (Cantata- Sunday)  did  he  go  down 
to  Hukelum.  His  mother  met  his  salutations  with  tears  ;  which 
she  shed,  over  the  corpse  for  grief,  over  the  testament  for  joy. — To 
the  now  Conrector  Egidius  Zebedaus  was  left:  In  the  first  place, 
a  large  sumptuous  bed,  with  a  mirror-tester,  in  which  the  giant 
Goliath  might  have  rolled  at  his  ease,  and  to  which  I  and  my  fair 
readers  will  by  and  by  approach  nearer,  to  examine  it ;  secondly, 
there  was  devised  to  him,  as  unpaid  Easter-godckild-ir  oney,  for 
every  year  that  he  had  lived,  one  ducat ;  thirdly,  all  the  admit- 
tance and  instalment  dues,  which  his  elevation  to  the  Quintate 
and  Conrectorate  had  cost  him,  were  to  be  made  good  to  the  ut- 
most penny.  "And  dost  thou  know,  then,"  proceeded  the  mother, 
"  what  the  poor  Fraulein  has  got  ?  Ah  Heaven  !  Nothing  !  Not 
one  brass  farthing !"  For  Death  had  stiffened  the  hand  which  was 
just  stretching  itself  out  to  reach  the  poor  Thiennette  a  little  rain- 
screen  against  the  foul  weather  of  life.  The  mother  related  this 
perverse  trick  of  Fortune  with  true  condolence ;  which  in  women 
dissipates  envy,  and  comes  easier  to  them  than  congratulation,  a 
feeling  belonging  rather  to  men.  In  many  female  hearts  sym- 
pathy and  envy  are  such  near  door-neighbours  that  they  could 
be  virtuous  nowhere  except  in  Hell,  where  men  have  such  fright- 
ful times  of  it;  and  vicious  nowhere  except  in  Heaven,  where 
people  have  more  happiness  than  they  know  what  to  do  with. 

The  Conrector  was  now  enjoying  on  Earth  that  Heaven  to 
which  his  benefactress  had  ascended.  First  of  all,  he  started  off 
— without  so  much  as  putting  up  his  handkerchief,  in  which  lay 


344 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


his  emotion — up-stairs  to  see  the  legacy-bed  unshrouded ;  for  he 
had  a  female  predilection  for  furniture.  I  know  not  whether  the 
reader  ever  looked  at  or  mounted  any  of  these  ancient  chivalric 
beds,  into  which,  by  means  of  a  little  stair  without  balustrades, 
you  can  easily  ascend ;  and  in  which  you,  properly  speaking,  sleep 
always  at  least  one  story  above  ground.  Nazianzen  informs  us 
(Orat.  XVI.)  that  the  Jews,  in  old  times,  had  high  beds  with  cock- 
ladders  of  this  sort ;  but  simply  because  of  vermin.  The  legacy 
bed- Ark  was  quite  as  large  as  one  of  these ;  and  a  flea  would  have 
measured  it  not  in  Diameters  of  the  Earth,  but  in  Distances  of 
Sirius.  When  Fixlein  beheld  this  colossal  dormitory,  with  the 
curtains  drawn  asunder,  and  its  canopy  of  looking-glass,  he  could 
have  longed  to  be  in  it;  and  had  it  been  in  his  power  to  cut  from 
the  opaque  hemisphere  of  Night,  at  that  time  in  America,  a  small 
section,  he  would  have  established  himself  there  along  with  it, 
just  to  swim  about,  for  one  half  hour,  with  his  thin  lath  figure,  in 
this  sea  of  down.  The  mother,  by  longer  chains  of  reasoning  and 
chains  of  calculation  than  the  bed  was,  had  not  succeeded  in  per- 
suading him  to  have  the  broad  mirror  on  the  top  cut  in  pieces, 
though  his  large  dressing-table  had  nothing  to  see  itself  in  but  a 
mere  shaving-glass  :  he  let  the  mirror  lie  where  it  was  for  this 
reason  :  "  Should  I  ever,  God  willing,  get  married,"  said  he,  "I 
shall  then,  towards  morning,  be  able  to  look  at  my  sleeping  wife, 
without  sitting  up  in  bed." 

As  to  the  second  article  of  the  testament,  the  godchild  Easter- 
pence,  his  mother  had,  last  night,  arranged  it  perfectly.  The 
Lawyer  took  her  evidence  on  the  years  of  the  heir;  and  these  she 
had  stated  at  exactly  the  teeth-number,  two-and-thirty.  She 
would  willingly  have  lied,  and  passed  off  her  son,  like  an  Inscrip- 
tion, for  older  than  he  was  :  but  against  this  venia  cetatis,  she 
saw  too  well,  the  authorities  would  have  taken  exception,  "that 
it  was  falsehood  and  cozenage;  had  the  son  been  two-and-thirty, 
he  must  have  been  dead  some  time  ago,  as  it  could  not  but  be 
presumed  that  he  then  was." 

And  just  as  she  was  recounting  this,  a  servant  from  Schadeck 
called,  and  delivered  to  the  Conrector,  in  return  for  a  discharge  and 
ratification  of  the  birth-certificate  given  out  by  his  mother,  a  gold 
bar  of  two-and-thirty  ducat  age-counters,  like  a  helm-bar  for  the 
voyage  of  his  life  :  Herr  von  Auf hammer  was  too  proud  to  engage 
in  any  pettifogging  discussion  over  a  plebeian  birth -certificate. 

And  thus,  by  a  proud  open-handedness,  was  one  of  the  best 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


345 


lawsuits  thrown  to  the  dogs  :  seeing  this  gold  bar  might,  in  the 
wire-mill  of  the  judgment-bench,  have  been  drawn  out  into  the 
finest  threads.  From  such  a  tangled  lock,  which  was  not  to  be 
unravelled — for,  in  the  first  place,  there  was  no  document  to  prove 
Fixlein's  age  ;  in  the  second  place,  so  long  as  he  lived,  the  neces- 
sary conclusion  was,  that  he  was  not  yet  thirty-two18 — from  such 
a  lock,  might  not  only  silk  and  hanging-cords,  but  whole  drag- 
nets have  been  spun  and  twisted.  Clients  in  general  would  have 
less  reason  to  complain  of  their  causes,  if  these  lasted  longer : 
Philosophers  contend  for  thousands  of  years  over  philosophical 
questions ;  and  it  seems  an  unaccountable  thing,  therefore,  that 
Advocates  should  attempt  to  end  their  juristical  questions  in  a 
space  of  eighty,  or  even  sometimes  of  sixty  years.  But  the  pro- 
fessors of  law  are  not  to  blame  for  this  :  on  the  other  hand,  as 
Lessing  asserts  of  Truth,  that  not  the  finding  but  the  seeking  of 
it  profits  men,  and  that  he  himself  would  willingly  make  over  his 
claim  to  all  truths  in  return  for  the  sweet  labour  of  investigation, 
so  is  the  professor  of  Law  not  profited  by  the  finding  and  decid- 
ing, but  by  the  investigation  of  a  juridical  truth, — which  is  called 
pleading  and  practising, — and  he  would  willingly  consent  to  ap- 
proximate to  Truth  forever,  like  an  hyperbola  to  its  asymptote, 
without  ever  meeting  it,  seeing  he  can  subsist  as  an  honourable 
man  with  wife  and  child,  let  such  approximation  be  as  tedious  as 
it  likes. 

The  Schadeck  servant  had,  besides  the  gold  legacy,  a  farther 
commission  from  the  Lawyer,  whereby  the  testamentary  heir  was 
directed  to  sum  up  the  mint-dues  which  he  had  been  obliged  to 
pay  while  lying  under  the  coining-press  of  his  superiors,  as  Quin- 
tus  and  Conrector ;  the  which,  properly  documented  and  authen- 
ticated, were  forthwith  to  be  made  good  to  him. 

Our  Conrector,  who  now  rated  himself  among  the  great  capi- 
talists of  the  world,  held  his  short  gold-roll  like  a  sceptre  in  his 
hand ;  like  a  basket-net  lifted  from  the  sea  of  the  Future,  which 
was  now  to  run  on,  and  bring  him  all  manner  of  fed-fishes,  well- 
washed,  sound  and  in  good  season.  . 

I  cannot  relate  all  things  at  once ;  else  I  should  ere  now  have 
told  the  reader,  who  must  long  have  been  waiting  for  it,  that  to 

18  As,  by  the  evidence  at  present  before  us,  we  can  found  on  no  other  pre- 
sumption, than  that  he  must  die  in  his  thirty- second  year ;  it  would  follow,  that, 
in  case  he  died  two-and-thirty  years  after  the  death  of  the  testatrix,  no  farthing 
cculd  be  claimed  by  him  ;  since,  according  to  our  fiction,  at  the  making  of  the 
testament  he  was  not  even  one  year  old. 


346 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


the  moneyed  Conrector  his  two -and -thirty  godchild-pennies  but 

too  much  prefigured  the  two-and-thirty  years  of  his  age ;  besides 
which,  today  the  Cantata- Sunday,  this  Bartholomew-night  and 
Second  of  September  of  his  family,  came  in  as  a  farther  aggra- 
vation. The  mother,  who  should  have  known  the  age  of  her 
child,  said  she  had  forgotten  it ;  but  durst  wager  he  was  thirty- 
two  a  year  ago  ;  only  the  Lawyer  was  a  man  you  could  not  speak 
to.  "I  could  swear  it  myself,"  said  the  capitalist ;  "I  recollect 
how  stupid  I  felt  on  Cantata- Sunday  last  year."  Fixlein  beheld 
Death,  not  as  the  poet  does,  in  the  up-towering,  asunder-driving 
concave -mirror  of  Imagination ;  but  as  the  child,  as  the  savage, 
as  the  peasant,  as  the  woman  does,  in  the  plane  octavo -mirror 
on  the  board  of  a  Prayer-book ;  and  Death  looked  to  him  like  an 
old  white-headed  man,  sunk  down  into  slumber  in  some  latticed 
pew. — 

And  yet  he  thought  oftener  of  him  than  last  year :  for  joy 
readily  melts  us  into  softness  ;  and  the  lackered  Wheel  of  For- 
tune is  a  cistern-wheel  that  empties  its  water  in  our  eyes  

But  the  friendly  Genius  of  this  terrestrial,  or  rather  aquatic  Ball, 
— for,  in  the  physical  and  in  the  moral  world,  there  are  more 
tear-seas  than  firm  land, — has  provided  for  the  poor  water-insects 
that  float  about  in  it,  for  us  namely,  a  quite  special  elixir  against 
spasms  in  the  soul :  I  declare  this  same  Genius  must  have  studied 
the  whole  pathology  of  man  with  care ;  for  to  the  poor  devil  who 
is  no  Stoic,  and  can  pay  no  Soul-doctor,  that  for  the  fissures  of 
his  cranium  and  his  breast  might  prepare  costly  prescriptions  of 
simples,  he  has  stowed  up  cask-wise  in  all  cellarages  a  precious 
wound-water,  which  the  patient  has  only  to  take  and  pour  over 
his  slashes  and  bone-breakages — gin-twist,  I  mean,  or  beer,  or  a 

touch  of  wine  By  Heaven  !  it  is  either  stupid  ingratitude 

towards  this  medicinal  Genius  on  the  one  hand,  or  theological 
confusion  of  permitted  tippling  with  prohibited  drunkenness  on 
the  other,  if  men  do  not  thank  God  that  they  have  something  at 
hand,  which,  in  the  nervous  vertigos  of  life,  will  instantly  supply 
the  place  of  Philosophy,  Christianity,  Judaism,  Paganism  and 
Time ; — liquor,  as  I  said. 

The  Conrector  had  long  before  sunset  given  the  village  post 
three  groschens  of  post-money,  and  commissioned, — for  he  had  a 
whole  cabinet  of  ducats  in  his  pocket,  which  all  day  he  was  sur- 
veying in  the  dark  with  his  hand, — three  thalers'  worth  of  Pontac 
from  the  town.   "  I  must  have  a  Cantata  merrying-making,"  said 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


347 


he;  "  if  it  be  my  last  day,  let  it  be  my  gayest  too  1"  I  could 
wish  he  had  given  a  larger  order ;  but  he  kept  the  bit  of  modera- 
tion between  his  teeth  at  all  times;  even  in  a  threatened  sham- 
death  -  night,  and  in  the  midst  of  jubilee.  The  question  is, 
Whether  he  would  not  have  restricted  himself  to  a  single  bottle, 
if  he  had  not  wished  to  treat  his  mother  and  the  Fraulein.  Had 
he  lived  in  the  tenth  century,  when  the  Day  of  Judgment  was 
thought  to  be  at  hand,  or  in  other  centuries,  when  new  Noah's 
Deluges  were  expected,  and  when,  accordingly,  like  sailors  in  a 
shipwreck,  people  bouzed  up  all, — he  would  not  have  spent  one 
kreutzer  more  on  that  account.  His  joy  was,  that  with  his 
legacy  he  could  now  satisfy  his  head-creditor  Steinberger,  and 
leave  the  world  an  honest  man :  just  people,  who  make  much 
of  money,  pay  their  debts  the  most  punctually. 

The  purple  Pontac  arrived  at  a  time  when  Fixlein  could  com- 
pare the  red-chalk-drawings  and  red-letter-titles  of  joy,  which  it 
would  bring  out  on  the  cheeks  of  its  drinker  and  drinkeresses, — 
with  the  Evening-carnation  of  the  last  clouds  about  the  Sun.  .  .  . 

I  declare,  among  all  the  spectators  of  this  History,  no  one 
can  be  thinking  more  about  poor  Thiennette  than  I ;  neverthe- 
less, it  is  not  permitted  me  to  bring  her  out  from  her  tiring-room 
to  my  historical  scene,  before  the  time.  Poor  girl !  The  Con- 
rector  cannot  wish  more  warmly  than  his  Biographer,  that,  in  the 
Temple  of  Nature  as  in  that  of  Jerusalem,  there  were  a  special 
door — besides  that  of  Death — standing  open,  through  which  only 
the  afflicted  entered,  that  a  Priest  might  give  them  solace.  But 
Thiennette's  heart-sickness  over  all  her  vanished  prospects,  over 
her  entombed  benefactress,  over  a  whole  life  enwrapped  in  the 
pall,  had  hitherto,  in  a  grief  which  the  stony  Kittmeister  rather 
made  to  bleed  than  alleviated,  swept  all  away  from  her,  occupa- 
tions excepted ;  had  fettered  all  her  steps  which  led  not  to  some 
task,  and  granted  to  her  eyes  nothing  to  dry  them  or  gladden 
them,  save  down-falling  eyelids  full  of  dreams  and  sleep. 

All  sorrow  raises  us  above  the  civic  Ceremonial  -  law,  and 
makes  the  Prosaist  a  Psalmist :  in  sorrow  alone  have  women 
courage  to  front  opinion.  Thiennette  walked  out  only  in  the 
evening,  and  then  only  in  the  garden. 

The  Conrector  could  scarcely  wait  for  the  appearance  of  his 
fair  friend,  to  offer  his  thanks, — and  tonight  also — his  Pontac. 
Three  Pontac  decanters  and  three  wine-glasses  were  placed  out- 
side on  the  projecting  window-sill  of  his  cottage ;  and  every  time 


348 


JEAN  PAUL  FPiIEDMCH  RICHTER. 


he  returned  from  the  dusky  covered-way  amid  the  flower-forests, 
he  drank  a  little  from  his  glass, — and  the  mother  sipped  now  and 
then  from  within  through  the  opened  window. 

I  have  already  said,  his  Life-laboratory  lay  in  the  south  west 
corner  of  the  garden  or  park,  over  against  the  Castle-Escurial, 
which  stretched  hack  into  the  village.  In  the  north-west  corner 
bloomed  an  acacia-grove,  like  the  floral  crown  of  the  garden.  Fix- 
lein  turned  his  steps  in  that  direction  also ;  to  see  if,  perhaps, 
he  might  not  cast  a  happy  glance  through  the  wide -latticed  grove 
over  the  intervening  meads  to  Thiennette.  He  recoiled  a  little 
before  two  stone  steps  leading  down  into  a  pond  before  this  grove, 
which  were  sprinkled  with  fresh  blood.  On  the  flags,  also,  there 
was  blood  hanging.  Man  shudders  at  this  oil  of  our  life's  lamp 
where  he  finds  it  shed :  to  him  it  is  the  red  death -signature  of 
the  Destroying  Angel.  Fixlein  hurried  apprehensively  into  the 
grove  ;  and  found  here  his  paler  benefactress  leaning  on  the  flower- 
bushes  ;  her  hands  with  their  knitting- ware  sunk  into  her  bosom, 
her  eyes  lying  under  their  lids  as  if  in  the  bandage  of  slumber ; 
her  left  arm  in  the  real  bandage  of  blood-letting  ;  and  with  cheeks 
to  which  the  twilight  was  lending  as  much  red,  as  late  wound- 
in  gs — this  day's  included — had  taken  from  them.  Fixlein,  after 
his  first  terror — not  at  this  flower's-sleep,  but  at  his  own  abrupt 
entrance — began  to  unrol  the  spiral  butterfly's-sucker  of  his  vision, 
and  to  lay  it  on  the  motionless  leaves  of  this  same  sleeping  flower. 
At  bottom,  I  may  assert,  that  this  was  the  first  time  he  had  ever 
looked  at  her :  he  was  now  among  the  thirties ;  and  he  still  con- 
tinued to  believe,  that,  in  a  young  lady,  he  must  look  at  the 
clothes  only,  not  the  person,  and  wait  on  her  with  his  ears,  not 
with  his  eyes. 

I  impute  it  to  the  elevating  influences  of  the  Pontac,  that  the 
Conrector  plucked  up  courage  to — turn,  to  come  back,  and  em- 
ploy the  resuscitating  means  of  coughing,  sneezing,  trampling  and 
calling  to  his  Shock,  in  stronger  and  stronger  doses  on  the  fair 
sleeper.  To  take  her  by  the  hand,  and,  with  some  medical  apo- 
logy, gently  pull  her  out  of  sleep,  this  was  an  audacity  of  which 
the  Conrector,  so  long  as  he  could  stand  for  Pontac,  and  had  any 
grain  of  judgment  left,  could  never  dream. 

However,  he  did  awake  her,  by  those  other  means. 

Wearied,  heavy-laden  Thiennette !  how  slowly  does  thy  eye 
open  !  The  warmest  balsam  of  this  earth,  soft  sleep  has  shifted 
aside,  and  the  night-air  of  memory  is  again  blowing  on  thy  naked 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


349 


wounds  ! — And  yet  was  the  smiling  friend  of  thy  youth  the  fairest 
object  which  thy  eye  could  light  on,  when  it  sank  from  the  hang- 
ing garden  of  Dreams  into  this  lower  one  round  thee. 

She  herself  was  little  conscious, — and  the  Conrector  not  at 
all, — that  she  was  bending  her  flower-leaves  imperceptibly  to- 
wards a  terrestrial  body,  namely  towards  Fixlein  :  she  resembled 
an  Italian  flower,  that  contains  cunningly  concealed  within  it  a 
newyear's  gift,  which  the  receiver  knows  not  at  first  how  to  ex- 
tract. But  now  the  golden  chain  of  her  late  kind  deed  attracted 
her  as  well  towards  h,im,  as  him  towards  her. — She  at  once  gave 
her  eye  and  her  voice  a  mask  of  joy ;  for  she  did  not  put  her 
tears,  as  Catholics  do  those  of  Christ,  in  relic-vials,  upon  altars 
to  be  worshiped.  He  could  very  suitably  preface  his  invitation 
to  the  Pontac  festival,  with  a  long  acknowledgment  of  thanks  for 
the  kind  intervention  which  had  opened  to  him  the  sources  for 
procuring  it.  She  rose  slowly,  and  walked  with  him  to  the  ban- 
quet of  wine ;  but  he  was  not  so  discreet,  as  at  first  to  attempt 
leading  her,  or  rather  not  so  courageous ;  he  could  more  easily 
have  offered  a  young  lady  his  hand  (that  is,  with  marriage  ring) 
than  offered  her  his  arm.  One  only  time  in  his  life  had  he 
escorted  a  female,  a  Lombard  Countess  from  the  theatre;  a  thing 
truly  not  to  be  believed,  were  not  this  the  secret  of  it,  that  he 
was  obliged ;  for  the  lady,  a  foreigner,  parted  in  the  press  from 
all  her  people,  in  a  bad  night,  had  laid  hold  of  him  as  a  sable 
Abbe  by  the  arm,  and  requested  him  to  take  her  to  her  inn.  He, 
however,  knew  the  fashions  of  society,  and  attended  her  no  far- 
ther than  the  porch  of  his  Quintus-mansion,  and  there  directed 
her  with  his  finger  to  her  inn,  which,  with  thirty  blazing  windows, 
was  looking  down  from  another  street. 

These  things  he  cannot  help.  But  tonight  he  had  scarcely, 
with  his  fair  faint  companion,  reached  the  bank  of  the  pond,  into 
which  some  superstitious  dread  of  water-sprites  had  lately  poured 
the  pure  blood  of  her  left  arm, — when,  in  his  terror  lest  she  fell 
in,  with  the  rest  of  her  blood,  over  the  brink,  he  quite  valiantly 
laid  hold  of  the  sick  arm.  Thus  will  much  Pontac  and  a  little 
courage  at  all  times  put  a  Conrector  in  case  to  lay  hold  of  a  Frau- 
lein.  I  aver,  that,  at  the  banquet-board  of  the  wine,  at  the  win- 
dow-sill, he  continued  in  the  same  conducting  position.  What 
a  soft  group  in  the  penumbra  of  the  Earth,  while  Night,  with  its 
dusky  waters,  was  falling  deeper  and  deeper,  and  the  silver-light 
of  the  Moon  was  already  glancing  back  from  the  copper-ball  of 


350 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


the  steeple  !  I  call  the  group  soft,  because  it  consists  of  a  maiden 
that  in  two  senses  has  been  bleeding ;  of  a  mother  again  with 
tears  giving  her  thanks  for  the  happiness  of  her  child  ;  and  of  a 
pious,  modest  man,  pouring  wine,  and  drinking  health  to  both, 
and  who  traces  in  his  veins  a  burning  lava-stream,  which  is  boil- 
ing through  his  heart,  and  threatening  piece  by  piece  to  melt  it 
and  bear  it  away. — A  candle  stood  without  among  the  three 
bottles,  like  Beason  among  the  Passions  ;  on  this  account  the 
Conrector  looked  without  intermission  at  the  window-panes,  for 
on  them  (the  darkness  of  the  room  served  as  mirror-foil)  was 
painted,  among  other  faces  which  Fixlein  liked,  the  face  he  liked 
best  of  all,  and  which  he  dared  to  look  at  only  in  reflection,  the 
face  of  Thiennette. 

Every  minute  was  a  Federation-festival,  and  every  second  a 
Preparation- Sabbath  for  it.  The  Moon  was  gleaming  from  the 
evening  dew,  and  the  Pontac  from  their  eyes,  and  the  bean-stalks 
were  casting  a  shorter  grating  of  shadow. — The  quicksilver -drops 
of  stars  were  hanging  more  and  more  continuous  in  the  sable  of 
night. — The  warm  vapour  of  the  wine  set  our  two  friends  (like 
steam-engines)  again  in  motion. 

Nothing  makes  the  heart  fuller  and  bolder  than  walking  to 
and  fro  in  the  night.  Fixlein  now  led  the  Fraulein  in  his  arm 
without  scruple.  By  reason  of  her  lancet-wound,  Thiennette 
could  only  put  her  hand,  in  a  clasping  position,  in  his  arm ;  and 
he,  to  save  her  the  trouble  of  holding  fast,  held  fast  himself,  and 
pressed  her  fingers  as  well  as  might  be  with  his  arm  to  his  heart. 
It  would  betray  a  total  want  of  polished  manners  to  censure  his. 
At  the  same  time,  trifles  are  the  provender  of  Love ;  the  fingers 
are  electric  dischargers  of  a  fire  sparkling  along  every  fibre ;  sighs 
are  the  guiding  tones  of  two  approximating  hearts  ;  and  the  worst 
and  most  effectual  thing  of  all  in  such  a  case  is  some  misfortune  ; 
for  the  fire  of  Love,  like  that  of  naphtha,  likes  to  swim  on  water. 
Two  teardrops,  one  in  another's,  one  in  your  own  eyes,  compose, 
as  with  two  convex  lenses,  a  microscope  which  enlarges  every- 
thing, and  changes  all  sorrows  into  charms.  Good  sex !  I  too 
consider  every  sister  in  misfortune  as  fair ;  and  perhaps  thou 
wouldst  deserve  the  name  of  the  Fair,  even  because  thou  art  the 
Suffering  sex ! 

And  if  Professor  Hunczogsky  in  Vienna  modelled  all  the 
wounds  of  the  human  frame  in  wax,  to  teach  his  pupils  how  to 
cure  them,  I  also,  thou  good  sex,  am  representing  in  little  figures 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN.  351 

the  cuts  and  scars  of  thy  spirit,  though  only  to  keep  away  rude 
hands  from  inflicting  new  ones  

Thiennette  felt  not  the  loss  of  the  inheritance,  but  of  her  that 
should  have  left  it ;  and  this  more  deeply  for  one  little  trait, 
which  she  had  already  told  his  mother,  as  she  now  told  him :  In 
the  last  two  nights  of  the  Rittmeisterinn,  when  the  feverish  watch- 
ing was  holding  up  to  Thiennette' s  imagination  nothing  but  the 
winding-sheet  and  the  mourning-coaches  of  her  protectress ;  while 
she  was  sitting  at  the  foot  of  the  bed,  looking  on  those  fixed  eyes, 
unconsciously  quick  drops  often  trickled  over  her  cheeks,  while  in 
thought  she  prefigured  the  heavy,  cumbrous  dressing  of  her  be- 
nefactress for  the  coffin.  Once,  after  midnight,  the  dying  lady 
pointed  with  her  finger  to  her  own  lips.  Thiennette  understood 
her  not ;  but  rose  and  bent  over  her  face.  The  Enfeebled  tried 
to  lift  her  head,  but  could  not, — and  only  rounded  her  lips.  At 
last,  a  thought  glanced  through  Thiennette,  that  the  Departing, 
whose  dead  arms  could  now  press  no  beloved  heart  to  her  own, 
wished  that  she  herself  should  embrace  her.  0  then,  that  in- 
stant, keen  and  tearful  she  pressed  her  warm  lips  on  the  colder, — 
and  she  was  silent  like  her  that  was  to  speak  no  more, — and  she 
embraced  alone  and  was  not  embraced.  About  four  o'clock,  the 
finger  waved  again  ; — she  sank  down  on  the  stiffened  lips — but 
this  had  been  no  signal,  for  the  lips  of  her  friend  under  the  long 
kiss  had  grown  stiff  and  cold  

How  deeply  now,  before  the  infinite  Eternity's- countenance  of 
Night,  did  the  cutting  of  this  thought  pass  through  Fixlein's  warm 
soul :  "0  thou  forsaken  one  beside  me  !  No  happy  accident,  no 
twilight  hast  thou,  like  that  now  glimmering  in  the  heavens,  to 
point  to  the  prospect  of  a  sunny  day  :  without  parents  art  thou, 
without  brother,  without  friend;  here  alone  on  a  disblossomed, 
emptied  corner  of  the  Earth  ;  and  thou,  left  Harvest-flower,  must 
wave  lonely  and  frozen  over  the  withered  stubble  of  the  Past." 
That  was  the  meaning  of  his  thoughts,  whose  internal  words 
were  :  "  Poor  young  lady  !  Not  so  much  as  a  half-cousin  left ; 
no  nobleman  will  seek  her,  and  she  grows  old  so  forgotten,  and 
she  is  so  good  from  the  very  heart — Me  she  has  made  happy — 
Ah,  had  I  the  presentation  to  the  parish  of  Hukelum  in  my 
pocket,  I  should  make  a  trial."  ....  Their  mutual  lives,  which 
a  straitcutting  bond  of  Destiny  was  binding  so  closely  together, 
now  rose  before  him  overhung  with  sable, — and  he  forthwith  con- 
ducted his  friend  (for  a  bashful  man  may  in  an  hour  and  a  half  be 


352 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


transformed  into  the  boldest,  and  then  continues  so)  back  to  the 
last  flask,  that  all  these  upsprouting  thistles  and  passion-flowers 
of  "sorrow  might  therewith  be  swept  away.  I  remark,  in  passing, 
that  this  was  stupid :  the  torn  vine  is  full  of  water- veins  as  well 
as  grapes;  and  a  soft  oppressed  heart  the  beverage  of  joy  can 
melt  only  into  tears. 

If  any  man  disagree  with  me,  I  shall  desire  him  to  look  at 
the  Conrector,  who  demonstrates  my  experimental  maxim  like  a 
very  sjdlogism. — One  might  arrive  at  some  philosophic  views,  if 
one  traced  out  the  causes,  why  liquors — that  is  to  say,  in  the 
long-run,  more  plentiful  secretion  of  the  nervous  spirits — make 
men  at  once  pious,  soft  and  poetical.  The  Poet,  like  Apollo  his 
father,  is  forever  a  youth;  and  is,  what  other  men  are  only  once, 
namely  in  love, — or  only  after  Pontac,  namely  intoxicated, — all 
his  life  long.  Fixlein,  who  had  been  no  poet  in  the  morning,  now 
became  one  at  night :  wine  made  him  pious  and  soft ;  the  Har- 
monica-bells in  man,  which  sound  to  the  tones  of  a  higher  world, 
must,  like  the  glass  Harmonica-bells,  if  they  are  to  act,  be  kept 
moist. 

He  was  now  standing  with  her  again  beside  the  wavering  pond, 
in  which  the  second  blue  hemisphere  of  heaven,  with  dancing 
stars  and  amid  quivering  trees,  was  playing ;  over  the  green  hills 
ran  the  white  crooked  footpaths  dimly  along ;  on  the  one  moun- 
tain was  the  twilight  sinking  together,  on  the  other  was  the  mist 
of  night  rising  up  ;  and  over  all  these  vapours  of  life,  hung  motion- 
less and  flaming  the  thousand-armed  lustre  of  the  starry  heaven, 
and  every  arm  held  in  it  a  burning  galaxy  

It  now  struck  eleven  Amid  such  scenes,  an  unknown 

hand  stretches  itself  out  in  man,  and  writes  in  foreign  language 
on  his  heart,  a  dread  Mene  Mens  Tekel  Upharsin.  ' 'Perhaps 
by  twelve  I  am  dead,"  thought  our  friend,  in  whose  soul  the 
Cantata- Sunday,  with  all  its  black  funeral  piles,  was  mounting  up. 

The  whole  future  Crucifixion-path  of  his  friend  lay  prickly 
and  bethorned  before  him ;  and  he  saw  every  bloody  trace  from 
which  she  lifted  her  foot, — she  who  had  made  his  own  way  soft 
with  flowers  and  leaves.  He  could  no  longer  restrain  himself; 
trembling  in  his  whole  frame,  and  with  a  trembling  voice,  he 
solemnly  said  to  her :  "If  the  Lord  this  night  call  me  away,  let 
the  half  of  my  fortune  be  yours ;  for  it  is  your  goodness  I  must 
thank  that  I  am  free  of  debts,  as  few  Teachers  are." 

Thiennette,  unacquainted  with  our  sex,  naturally  mistook  this 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


853 


speech  for  a  proposal  of  marriage  ;  and  the  fingers  of  her  wounded 
arm,  tonight  for  the  first  time,  pressed  suddenly  against  the  arm 
in  which  they  lay ;  the  only  living  mortal's  arm,  by  which  Joy, 
Love  and  the  Earth,  were  still  united  with  her  bosom.  The  Con- 
rector,  rapturously  terrified  at  the  first  pressure  of  a  female  hand, 
bent  over  his  right  to  take  hold  of  her  left ;  and  Thiennette,  ob- 
serving his  unsuccessful  movement,  lifted  her  fingers,  and  laid  her 
whole  wounded  arm  in  his,  and  her  whole  left  hand  in  his  right. 
Two  lovers  dwell  in  the  Whispering-gallery,19  where  the  faintest 
breath  bodies  itself  forth  into  a  sound.  The  good  Conrector  re- 
ceived and  returned  this  blissful  love-pressure,  wherewith  our  poor 
powerless  soul,  stammering,  hemmed  in,  longing,  distracted,  seeks 
for  a  warmer  language,  which  exists  not :  he  was  overpowered ; 
he  had  not  the  courage  to  look  at  her ;  but  he  looked  into  the 
gleam  of  the  twilight,  and  said  (and  here  for  unspeakable  love  the 
tears  were  running  warm  over  his  cheeks)  :  "  Ah,  I  will  give  you 
all;  fortune,  life  and  all  that  I  have,  my  heart  and  my  hand." 

She  was  about  to  answer,  but  casting  a  side-glance,  she  cried, 
with  a  shriek:  "Ah,  Heaven!"  He  started  round;  and  per- 
ceived the  white  muslin  sleeve  all  dyed  with  blood ;  for  in  putting 
her  arm  into  his,  she  had  pushed  away  the  bandage  from  the 
open  vein.  With  the  speed  of  lightning,  he  hurried  her  into  the 
acacia-grove  ;  the  blood  was  already  running  from  the  muslin ;  he 
grew  paler  than  she,  for  every  drop  of  it  was  coming  from  his 
heart.  The  blue-white  arm  was  bared ;  the  bandage  was  put  on; 
he  tore  a  piece  of  gold  from  his  pocket ;  clapped  it,  as  one  does 
with  open  arteries,  on  the  spouting  fountain,  and  bolted  with  this 
golden  bar,  and  with  the  bandage  over  it,  the  door  out  of  which 
her  afflicted  life  was  hurrying. — 

When  it  was  over,  she  looked  up  to  him ;  pale,  languid,  but 
her  eyes  were  two  glistening  fountains  of  an  unspeakable  love,  full 
of  sorrow  and  full  of  gratitude. — The  exhausting  loss  of  blood  was 
spreading  her  soul  asunder  in  sighs.  Thiennette  was  dissolved 
into  inexpressible  softness ;  and  the  heart,  lacerated  by  so  many 
years,  by  so  many  arrows,  was  plunging  with  all  its  wounds  in 
warm  streams  of  tears,  to  be  healed  ;  as  chapped  flutes  close 
together  by  lying  in  water,  and  get  back  their  tones. — Before 
such  a  magic  form,  before  such  a  pure  heavenly  love,  her  sym- 
pathising friend  was  melted  between  the  flames  of  joy  and  grief ; 

lt  In  St.  Paul's  Church  at  London,  where  the  slightest  whisper  sounds  over 
across  a  space  of  143  feet. 

VOL.  III.  A  A 


r 


354 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


and  sank,  with  stifled  voice,  and  bent  down  by  love  and  rapture, 
on  the  pale  angelic  face,  the  lips  of  which  he  timidly  pressed,  but 
did  not  kiss,  till  all-powerful  Love  bound  its  girdles  round  them, 
and  drew  the  two  closer  and  closer  together,  and  their  two  souls, 
like  two  tears,  melted  into  one.  0  now,  when  it  struck  twelve, 
the  hour  of  death,  did  not  the  lover  fancy  that  her  lips  were 
drawing  his  soul  away,  and  all  the  fibres  and  all  the  nerves  of 
his  life  closed  spasmodically  round  the  last  heart  in  this  world, 
round  the  last  rapture  of  existence  ?  .  .  .  .  Yes,  happy  man, 
thou  didst  express  thy  love ;  for  in  thy  love  thou  thoughtest  to 
die  

However,  he  did  not  die.  After  midnight,  there  floated  a 
balmy  morning  air  through  the  shaken  flowers,  and  the  whole 
spring  was  breathing.  The  blissful  lover,  setting  bounds  even  to 
his  sea  of  joy,  reminded  his  delicate  beloved,  who  was  now  his 
bride,  of  the  dangers  from  night-cold ;  and  himself  of  the  longer 
night-cold  of  Death,  which  was  now  for  long  years  passed  over. — 
Innocent  and  blessed,  they  rose  from  the  grove  of  their  betroth- 
ment,  from  its  dusk  broken  by  white  acacia-flowers  and  straggling 
moonbeams.  And  without,  they  felt  as  if  a  whole  wide  Past  had 
sunk  away  in  a  convulsion  of  the  world ;  all  was  new,  light  and 
young.  The  sky  stood  full  of  glittering  dewdrops  from  the  ever- 
lasting Morning;  and  the  stars  quivered  joyfully  asunder,  and 
sank,  resolved  into  beams,  down  into  the  hearts  of  men. — The 
Moon,  with  her  fountain  of  light,  had  overspread  and  kindled  all 
the  garden ;  and  was  hanging  above  in  a  starless  Blue,  as  if  she 
had  consumed  the  nearest  stars ;  and  she  seemed  like  a  smaller 
wandering  Spring,  like  a  Christ's-face  smiling  in  love  of  man. — 

Under  this  light  they  looked  at  one  another  for  the  first  time, 
after  the  first  words  of  love  ;  and  the  sky  gleamed  magically  down 
on  the  disordered  features  with  which  the  first  rapture  of  love  was 
still  standing  written  on  their  faces  

Dream,  ye  beloved,  as  ye  wake,  happy  as  in  Paradise,  innocent 
as  in  Paradise ! 


SIXTH  LETTER-BOX. 

Office-impost.    One  of  the  most  important  of  Petitions. 

The  finest  thing  was  his  awakening  in  his  European  Settle  - 
ment in  the  giant  Schadeck  bed !— With  the  inflammatory,  tick- 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


355 


ling,  eating  fever  of  love  in  his  breast ;  with  the  triumphant 
feeling,  that  he  had  now  got  the  introductory  program  of  love 
put  happily  by ;  and  with  the  sweet  resurrection  from  his  living 
prophetic  burial ;  and  with  the  joy  that  now,  among  his  thirties, 
he  could,  for  the  first  time,  cherish  hopes  of  a  longer  life  (and 
did  not  longer  mean  at  least  till  seventy  ?)  than  he  could  ten 
years  ago; — with  all  this  stirring  life-balsam,  in  which  the  living 
fire-wheel  of  his  heart  was  rapidly  revolving,  he  lay  here,  and 
laughed  at  his  glancing  portrait  in  the  bed- canopy ;  but  he  could 
not  do  it  long,  he  was  obliged  to  move.  For  a  less  happy  man, 
it  would  .have  been  gratifying  to  have  measured, — as  pilgrims 
measure  the  length  of  their  pilgrimage, — not  so  much  by  steps 
as  by  body-lengths,  like  Earth-diameters,  the  superficial  content 
of  the  bed.  But  Fixlein,  for  his  own  part,  had  to  launch  from 
his  bed  into  warm  billowy  Life,  he  had  now  his  dear  good  Earth 
again  to  look  after,  and  a  Conrectorship  thereon,  and  a  bride  to 
boot.  Besides  all  this,  his  mother  downstairs  now  admitted  that 
he  had  last  night  actually  glided  through  beneath  the  scythe  of 
Death,  like  supple-grass,  and  that  yesterday  she  had  not  told  him 
merely  out  of  fear  of  his  fear.  Still  a  cold  shudder  went  over 
him, — especially  as  he  was  sober  now, — when  he  looked  round 
at  the  high  Tarpeian  Rock,  four  hours'  distance  behind  him,  on 
the  battlements  of  which  he  had  last  night  walked  hand  in  hand 
with  Death. 

The  only  thing  that  grieved  him  was,  that  it  was  Monday, 
and  that  he  must  back  to  the  Gymnasium.  Such  a  freightage  of 
joys  he  had  never  taken  with  him  on  his  road  to  town.  After 
four  he  issued  from  his  house,  satisfied  with  coffee  (which  he 
drank  in  Hukelum  merely  for  his  mother's  sake,  who,  for  two 
days  after,  would  still  have  portions  of  this  woman's- wine  to  draw 
from  the  lees  of  the  pot-sediment)  into  the  cooling  dawning  May- 
morning  (for  joy  needs  coolness,  sorrow  sun) ;  his  Betrothed  comes 
— not  indeed  to  meet  him,  but  still — into  his  hearing,  by  her  dis- 
tant morning  hymn ;  he  makes  but  one  momentary  turn  into  the 
blissful  haven  of  the  blooming  acacia-grove,  which  still,  like  the 
covenant  sealed  in  it,  has  no  thorns ;  he  dips  his  warm  hand  in 
the  cold-bath  of  the  dewy  leaves  ;  he  Wades  with  pleasure  through 
the  beautifying-water  of  the  dew,  which,  as  it  imparts  colour  to 
faces,  eats  it  away  from  boots  ("but  with  thirty  ducats,  a  Con- 
rector  may  make  shift  to  keep  two  pairs  of  boots  on  the  hook"). 
— And  now  the  Moon,  as  it  were  the  hanging  seal  of  his  last 


356 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDMCH  RICHTER. 


night's  happiness,  dips*  down  into  the  West,  like  an  emptied 
bucket  of  light,  and  in  the  East  the  other  overrunning  bucket, 
the  Sun,  mounts  up,  and  the  gushes  of  light  flow  broader  and 
broader. — 

The  city  stood  in  the  celestial  flames  of  Morning.  Here  his 
divining-rod  (his  gold-roll,  which,  excepting  one  sixteenth  of  an 
inch  broken  off  from  it,  he  carried  along  with  him)  began  to  quiver 
over  all  the  spots  where  booty  and  silver-veins  of  enjoyment  were 
concealed ;  and  our  rod-diviner  easily  discovered  that  the  city  and 
the  future  were  a  true  entire  Potosi  of  delights. 

In  his  Conrectorate  closet  he  fell  upon  his  knees,  and  thanked 
God — not  so  much  for  his  heritage  and  bride  as — for  his  life :  for 
he  had  gone  away  on  Sunday  morning  with  doubts  whether  he 
should  ever  come  back ;  and  it  was  purely  out  of  love  to  the 
reader,  and  fear  lest  he  might  fret  himself  too  much  with  appre- 
hension, that  I  cunningly  imputed  Fixlein's  journey  more  to  his 
desire  of  knowing  what  was  in  the  will,  than  of  making  his  own 
will  in  presence  of  his  mother.  Every  recovery  is  a  bringing  back 
and  palingenesia  of  our  youth  :  one  loves  the  Earth  and  those 
that  are  on  it  with  a  new  love. — The  Conrector  could  have  found 
in  his  heart  to  take  all  his  class  by  the  locks,  and  press  them  to 
his  breast ;  but  he  only  did  so  to  his  adjutant,  the  Quartaner, 
who,  in  the  first  Letter-box,  was  still  sitting  in  the  rank  of  a 
Quintaner  

His  first  expedition,  after  school-hours,  was  to  the  house  of 
Meister  Steinberger,  where,  without  speaking  a  word,  he  counted 
down  fifty  florins  cash,  in  ducats,  on  the  table  :  "At  last  I  repay 
you,"  said  Fixlein,  "  the  moiety  of  my  debt,  and  give  you  many 
thanks." 

"  Ey,  Herr  Conrector,"  said  the  Quartermaster,  and  continued 
calmly  stuffing  puddings  as  before,  "in  my  bond  it  is  said,  'pay- 
able at  three  months'  mutual  notice.  How  could  a  man  like  me 
go  on,  else  ? — However,  I  will  change  you  the  gold  pieces." 
Thereupon  he  advised  him  that  it  might  be  more  judicious  to 
take  back  a  florin  or  two,  and  buy  himself  a  better  hat,  and 
whole  shoes:  "if  you  like,"  added  he,  "to  get  a  calfskin  and 
half  a  dozen  hareskins  dressed,  they  are  lying  upstairs."  —  I 
should  think,  for  my  own  part,  that  to  the  reader  it  must  be 
as  little  a  matter  of  indifference  as  it  was  to  the  Butcher,  whether 
the  hero  of  such  a  History  appear  before  him  with  an  old  tattered 
potlid  of  a  hat,  and  a  pump -sucker  and  leg-Larness  pair  of  boots, 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


357 


or  in  suitable  apparel. — In  short,  before  St.  John's  day,  the  man 
was  dressed  with  taste  and  pomp. 

But  now  came  two  most  peculiarly  important  papers  —  at 
bottom  only  one,  the  Petition  for  the  Hukelum  parsonship  —  to 
be  elaborated ;  in  regard  to  which  I  feel  as  if  I  myself  must 
assist.  ...  It  were  a  simple  turn,  if  now  at  least  the  assembled 
public  did  not  pay  attention. 

In  the  first  place,  the  Conrector  searched  out  and  sorted  all 
the  Consistorial  and  Councillor  quittances,  or  rather  the  toll-bills 
of  the  road-money,  which  he  had  been  obliged  to  pay,  before  the 
toll-gates  at  the  Quintusship  and  Conrectorship  had  been  thrown 
open :  fdr  the  executor  of  the  Schadeck  testament  had  to  reim- 
burse him  the  whole,  as  his  discharge  would  express  it,  "to  penny 
and  farthing."  Another  would  have  summed  up  this  post- excise 
much  more  readily ;  by  merely  looking  what  he — owed ;  as  these 
debt-bills  and  those  toll-bills,  like  parallel  passages,  elucidate  and 
confirm  each  other.  But  in  Fixlein's  case,  there  was  a  small  cir- 
cumstance of  peculiarity  at  work ;  which  I  cannot  explain  till  after 
what  follows. 

It  grieved  him  a  little  that  for  his  two  offices  he  had  been 
obliged  to  pay  and  to  borrow  no  larger  a  sum  than  135  florins, 
41  kreutzers  and  one  halfpenny.  The  legacy,  it  is  true,  was  to 
pass  directly  from  the  hands  of  the  testamentary  executor  into 
those  of  the  Regiments  -  Quartermaster ;  but  yet  he  could  have 
liked  well,  had  he — for  man  is  a  fool  from  the  very  foundation 
of  him — had  more  to  pay,  and  therefore  to  inherit.  The  whole 
Conrectorate  he  had,  by  a  slight  deposit  of  90  florins,  plucked, 
as  it  were,  from  the  Wheel  of  Fortune ;  and  so  small  a  sum  must 
surprise  my  reader :  but  what  will  he  say,  when  I  tell  him  that 
there  are  countries  where  the  entry-money  into  schoolrooms  is 
even  more  moderate  ?  In  Scherau,  a  Conrector  is  charged  only 
88  florins,  and  perhaps  he  may  have  an  income  triple  of  thi3 
sum.  Not  to  speak  of  Saxony  (what,  in  truth,  was  to  be  ex- 
pected from  the  cradle  of  the  Reformation,  in  Religion  and  Polite 
Literature),  where  a  schoolmaster  and  a  parson  have  nothing  to 
pay, — even  in  Bayreuth,  for  exampie,  in  Hof,  the  progress  of 
improvement  has  been  such,-  that  a  Quartus — a  Quartus  do  I 
say, — a  Tertius — a  Tertius  do  I  say, — a  Conrector,  at  entrance 
on  his  post,  is  not  required  to  pay  down  more  than : 


358 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


EL  rhen. 


Kr.  rhen. 

49     For  taking  the  oaths  at  the  Consistorium. 
0     To  the  Syndic  for  the  Presentation. 
0     To  the  then  Bin-germeister. 
7i    For  the  Government  sanction. 


30 
4 
2 

45 


Total  81  fl.    56£  kr. 

If  the  printing-charges  of  a  Rector  do  stand  a  little  higher  in 
some  points,  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  a  Tertius,  Quartus  &c.  come 
cheaper  from  the  press  than  even  a  Conrector.  Now  it  is  clear 
that  in  this  case  a  schoolmaster  can  subsist ;  since,  in  the  course 
of  the  very  first  year,  he  gets  an  overplus  beyond  this  dock-money 
of  his  office.  A  schoolmaster  must,  like  his  scholars,  have  been 
advanced  from  class  to  class,  before  these  his  loans  to  Govern- 
ment, together  with  the  interest  for  delay  of  payment,  can  jointly 
amount  to  so  much  as  his  yearly  income  in  the  highest  class. 
Another  thing  in  his  favour  is,  that  our  institutions  do  not — as 
those  of  Athens  did — prohibit  people  from  entering  on  office  whils 
in  debt ;  but  every  man,  with  his  debt-knapsack  on  his  shoulders, 
mounts  up,  step  after  step,  without  obstruction.  The  Pope,  in 
large  benefices,  appropriates  the  income  of  the  first  year  under 
the  title  of  Annates,  or  First  Fruits ;  and  accordingly  he,  in  all 
cases,  bestows  any  large  benefice  on  the  possessor  of  a  smaller 
one,  thereby  to  augment  both  his  own  revenues  and  those  of 
others ;  but  it  shows,  in  my  opinion,  a  bright  distinction  between 
Popery  and  Lutheranism,  that  the  Consistoriums  of  the  latter 
abstract  from  their  school  -  ministers  and  church  -  ministers  not 
perhaps  above  two  -  thirds  of  their  first  yearly  income ;  though 
they  too,  like  the  Pope,  must  naturally  have  an  eye  to  vacancies. 

It  may  be  that  I  shall  here  come  in  collision  with  the  Elector 
of  Mentz,  when  I  confess,  that  in  Schmausen's  Corp.  Jur.  Pub. 
Germ.  I  have  turned  up  the  Mentz-Imperial-Court-Chancery-tax- 
ordinance  of  the  6th  January  1659  ;  and  there  investigated  how 
much  this  same  Imperial-Court-Chancery  demands,  as  contrasted 
with  a  Consistorium.  For  example,  any  man  that  wishes  to  be 
baked  or  sodden  into  a  Poet  Laureate,  has  50  florins  tax-dues, 
and  20  florins  Chancery-dues  to  pay  down  ;  whereas,  for  20  florins 
more,  he  might  have  been  made  a  Conrector,  who  is  a  poet  of 
this  species,  as  it  were  by  the  by  and  ex  officio. — The  institution 
of  a  Gymnasium  is  permitted  for  1000  florins;  an  extraordinary 
sum,  with  which  the  whole  body  of  the  teachers  in  th<>  instituted 
Gymnasium  might  with  us  clear  off  the  entrymoneys  of  their 


LIFE  OF  QUINTU3  FIXLE1N.  359 

schoolrooms.  Again,  a  Freiherr,  who,  at  any  rate,  often  enough 
grows  old  without  knowing  how,  must  purchase  the  venia  cetatis 
with  200  hard  florins  ;  while  with  the  half  sum  he  might  have 
become  a  schoolmaster,  and  here  age  would  have  come  of  its  own 
accord. — And  a  thousand  such  things ! — T.Ley  prove,  however, 
that  matters  can  be  at  no  bad  pass  in  ouv  Governments  and 
Circles,  where  promotions  are  sold  dearer  to  Folly  than  to  Dili- 
gence, and  where  it  costs  more  to  institute  a  school  than  to  serve 
in  one. 

The  remarks  I  made  on  this  subject  to  a  Prince,  as  well  as 
the  remarks  a  Town- Syndic  made  on  it  to  myself,  are  too  remark- 
able to  be  omitted  for  mere  dread  of  digressiveness. 

The  Syndic — a  man  of  enlarged  views,  and  of  fiery  patriotism, 
the  warmth  of  which  was  the  more  beneficent  that  he  collected  all 
the  beams  of  it  into  one  focus,  and  directed  them  to  himself  and 
his  family — gave  me  (I  had  perhaps  been  comparing  the  School- 
bench  and  the  School- stair  to  the  bench  and  the  ladder,  on  which 
people  are  laid  when  about  to  be  tortured)  the  best  reply:  "If 
a  schoolmaster  consume  nothing  but  30  reichsthalers  ;20  if  he 
annually  purchase  manufactured  goods,  according  as  Political 
Economists  have  calculated  for  each  individual,  namely,  to  the 
amount  of  5  reichsthalers  ;  and  no  more  hundredweights  of  victual 
than  these  assume,  namely  10  ;  in  short,  if  he  live  like  a  sub- 
stantial wood-cutter, — then  the  Devil  must  be  in  it,  if  he  cannot 
yearly  lay  by  so  much  net  profit,  as  shall,  in  the  long-run,  pay 
the  interest  of  his  entry-debts." 

The  Syndic  must  have  failed  to  convince  me  at  the  time, 
since  I  afterwards  told  the  Flachsenfingen  Prince  :21  "  Illustrious 
Sir,  you  know  not,  but  I  do — not  a  player  in  your  Theatre  would 
act  the  Schoolmaster  in  Engel's  Prodigal  Son,  three  nights  run- 
ning, for  such  a  sum  as  every  real  Schoolmaster  has  to  take  for 
acting  it  all  the  days  of  the  year.« — In  Prussia,  Invalids  are  made 
Schoolmasters;  with  us,  Schoolmasters  are  made  Invalids."  .  .  . 

But  to  our  story  !    Fixlein  wrote  out  the  inventory  of  his 

20  So  much,  according  to  Political  Economists,  a  man  yearly  requires  in  Ger- 
many. 

21  This  singular  tone  of  my  address  to  a  Prince  can  only  he  excused  hy  the 
equally  singular  relation,  wherein  the  Biographer  stands  to  the  Flachsenfingen 
Sovereign,  and  which  I  would  willingly  unfold  here,  were  it  not  that,  in  my  Book, 
which,  under  the  title  of  Dog -post-days,  I  mean  to  give  to  the  world  at  Easter- 
fair  1795,  I  hoped  to  expound  the  matter  to  universal  satisfaction. 


s  j 


Crown-debts ;  but  with  quite  ft  iliffcwnt  purpose  fha-n  the  reader 
will  guess,  who  has  still  the  Sch&deck  testament  in  his  head.  In 
:-i  w;ri.  -ir_:el  ::  zi  Firs:-  ::  H^el^n.  T:  :e  s  clergy- 
man, and  in  the  place  where  Ins  cradle  stood,  and  all  the  little 
gardens  of  his  childhood,  his  mother  also,  and  the  grove  of  be- 
trothment, — this  was  an  open  gate  into  a  New  Jerusalem,  sup- 
posing even  that  the  firing  had  been  nothing  but  a  meagre  peni- 
tentiary. Ike  main  point  was,  he  might  marry,  if  he  were 
appointed.  For,  in  the  capacity  of  lank  Connector  ,  supported  only 
by  the  strengthening-girth  of  his  waistcoat,  and  with  emoluments 
whereby  scarcely  the  purchase-money  of  a — purse  was  to  be  come 
at ;  in  this  way  he  was  more  like  collecting  wick  and  tallow  for 
his  burial-torch  than  for  his  bridal  one. 

For  the  Schoolmaster  class  are,  in  well -ordered  States,  as 
little  permitted  to  marry  as  the  Soldiery.  In  Conringius  aV  An- 
iiquitatibus  Aeademicis,  where  in  every  leaf  it  is  proved  that  all 
cloisters  were  originally  schools,  I  hit  upon  the  reason.  Our 
schools  are  now  cloisters,  and  consequently  we  endeavour  to  main- 
tain in  our  teachers  at  least  an  imitation  of  the  Three  Monastic 
Yo^s.  Tie  w«  of  Obedience  m%bt  jerhaps  be  sufficiently  en- 
forced by  School-Inspectors  :  but  the  second  vow,  that  of  Celibacy  , 
would  be  more  hard  of  attainment,  were  it  not  that,  by  one  of  the 
lest  political  arrangements,  the  third  tow,  I  mean  a  beautiful 
equality  in  Poverty,  is  so  admirably  attended  to,  that  no  man  who 
has  made  it  needs  any  farther  testimonium  paupertatis  g — and 
now  let  this  man,  if  he  likes,  lay  hold  of  a  matrimonial  half,  when 
of  the  two  halves  each  has  a  whole  stomach,  and  nothing  for  it 
but  half-coins  and  half-beer  !  .  .  .  . 

I  know  well,  millions  of  my  readers  would  themselves  com- 
pose this  Petition  for  the  Conrector,  and  ride  with  it  to  Schadeck 
to  his  Lordship,  that  so  the  poor  rogue  might  get  the  sheepfold, 
with  the  annexed  wedding-mansion :  for  they  see  dearly  enough, 
that  directly  thereafter  one  of  the  best  Letter -Boxes  would  be 
written  that  ever  came  from  such  a  repository. 

Fixlein  s  Petition  was  particularly  good  and  striking :  it  sub- 
mitted to  the  Eittmeister  four  grounds  of  preference :  1.  "  He 
was  a  native  of  the  parish :  his  patents  and  ancestors  had  already 
done  HiLkclun  service  ;  therefore  he  prayed,"  &c. 

2.  '*  The  here-documented  official  debts  of  135  florins,  41 
kreutzers  and  one  halfpenny,  the  cancelling  of  which  a  never-to- 
be -forgotten  testament  secured  him,  he  himself  could  dear,  in 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


361 


case  he  obtained  the  living,  and  so  hereby  give  up  his  claim  to 
the  legacy,"  &c. 

Voluntary  Note  by  me.  It  is  plain  he  means  to  bribe  his 
Godfather,  whom  the  lady's  testament  has  put  into  a  fume.  But, 
gentle  reader,  blame  not  without  mercy  a  poor,  oppressed,  heavy- 
laden  school-man  and  school-horse  for  an  indelicate  insinuation, 
which  truly  was  never  mine.  Consider,  Fixlein  knew  that  the 
Rittmeister  was  a  cormorant  towards  the  poor,  as  he  was  a  squan- 
derer towards  the  rich.  It  may  be,  too,  the  Conrector  might 
once  or  twice  have  heard,  in  the  Law  Courts,  of  patrons,  by 
whom  not  indeed  the  church  and  churchyard — though  these  things 
are  articles  of  commerce  in  England — so  much  as  the  true  man- 
agement of  them  had  been  sold,  or  rather  farmed  to  farming- 
candidates.  I  know  from  Lange,22  that  the  Church  must  support 
its  patron,  when  he  has  nothing  to  live  upon :  and  might  not  a 
nobleman,  before  he  actually  began  begging,  be  justified  in  taking 
a  little  advance,  a  fore-payment  of  his  alimentary  moneys,  from 
the  hands  of  his  pulpit-farmer  ? — 

3.  "  He  had  lately  betrothed  himself  with  Fraulein  von  Thien- 
nette,  and  given  her  a  piece  of  gold,  as  marriage  -  pledge ;  and 
could  therefore  wed  the  said  Fraulein  were  he  once  provided 
for,"  &c. 

Voluntary  Note  by  me.  I  hold  this  ground  to  be  the  strongest 
in  the  whole  Petition.  In  the  eyes  of  Herr  von  Auf hammer, 
Thiennette's  genealogical  tree  was  long  since  stubbed,  disleaved, 
worm-eaten  and  full  of  millepedes  :  she  was  his  (Economa,  his 
Castle-Stewardess  and  Legatess  a  Latere  for  his  domestics ;  and 
with  her  pretensions  for  an  alms  -  coffer,  was  threatening  in  the 
end  to  become  a  burden  to  him.  His  indignant  wish  that  she 
had  been  provided  for  with  Fixlein's  legacy  might  now  be  ful- 
filled. In  a  word,  if  Fixlein  become  Parson,  he  will  have  the 
third  ground  to  thank  for  it ;  not  at  all  the  mad  fourth  

4.  "  He  had  learned  with  sorrow,  that  the  name  of  his  Shock, 
which  he  had  purchased  from  an  Emigrant  at  Leipzig,  meant 
Egidius  in  German ;  and  that  the  dog  had  drawn  upon  him  the 
displeasure  of  his  Lordship.  Far  be  it  from  him  so  to  designate 
the  Shock  in  future ;  but  he  would  take  it  as  a  special  grace,  if 
for  the  dog,  which  he  at  present  called  without  any  name,  his 
Lordship  would  be  pleased  to  appoint  one  himself." 

My  Voluntary  Note.    The  dog  then,  it  seems,  to  which  the 

22  His  Clerical  Law,  p.  551. 


362 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


nobleman  has  hitherto  been  godfather,  is  to  receive  its  name  a 
second  time  from  him  ! — But  how  can  the  famishing  gardener's 
son,  whose  career  never  mounted  higher  than  from  the  school- 
bench  to  the  school  -  chair,  and  who  never  spoke  with  polished 
ladies,  except  singing,  namely  in  the  church,  how  can  he  be 
expected,  in  fingering  such  a  string,  to  educe  from  it  any  finer 
tone  than  the  pedantic  one  ?  And  yet  the  source  of  it  lies  deeper  : 
not  the  contracted  situation,  but  the  contracted  eye,  not  a  favourite 
science,  but  a  narrow  plebeian  soul,  makes  us  pedantic,  a  soul  that 
cannot  measure  and  separate  the  concentric  circles  of  human 
knowledge  and  activity,  that  confounds  the  focus  of  universal 
human  life,  by  reason  of  the  focal  distance,  with  every  two  or 
three  converging  rays ;  and  that  cannot  see  all,  and  tolerate  all 
 In  short,  the  true  Pedant  is  the  Intolerant. 

The  Conrector  wrote  out  his  petition  splendidly  in  five  propi- 
tious evenings ;  employed  a  peculiar  ink  for  the  purpose  ;  worked 
not  indeed  so  long  over  it  as  the  stupid  Manucius  over  a  Latin 
letter,  namely,  some  months,  if  Scioppius'  word  is  to  be  taken ; 
still  less  so  long  as  another  scholar  at  a  Latin  epistle,  who — truly 
we  have  nothing  but  Morhof 's  word  for  it — hatched  it  during  four 
whole  months ;  inserting  his  variations,  adjectives,  feet,  with  the 
authorities  for  his  phrases,  accurately  marked  between  the  lines. 
Fixlein  possessed  a  more  thorough-going  genius,  and  had  com- 
pletely mastered  the  whole  enterprise  in  sixteen  days.  While 
sealing,  he  thought,  as  we  all  do,  how  this  cover  was  the  seed- 
husk  of  a  great  entire  Future,  the  rind  of  many  sweet  or  bitter 
fruits,  the  swathing  of  his  whole  after-life. 

Heaven  bless  his  cover ;  but  I  let  you  throw  me  from  the 
Tower  of  Babel,  if  he  get  the  parsonage :  can't  you  see,  then, 
that  Auf hammer's  hands  are  tied  ?  In  spite  of  all  his  other 
faults,  or  even  because  of  them,  he  will  stand  like  iron  by  his 
word,  which  hs  has  given  so  long  ago  to  the  Subrector.  It  were 
another  mattei  had  he  been  resident  at  Court ;  for  there,  where 
old  German  manners  still  are,  no  promise  is  kept ;  for  as,  ac- 
cording to  Moser,  the  Ancient  Germans  kept  only  such  promises 
as  they  made  in  the  forenoon  (in  the  afternoon  they  were  all 
dead-drunk) , — so  the  Court  Germans  likewise  keep  no  afternoon 
promise ;  forenoon  ones  they  would  keep  if  they  made  any,  which, 
however,  cannot  possibly  happen,  as  at  those  hours  they  are — 
sleeping. 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


363 


SEVENTH  LETTER-BOX. 

Sermon.    ScJwol-Exhibition.    Splendid  Mistake. 

The  Conrector  received  his  135  florins,  43  kreutzers,  one 
halfpenny  Frankish ;  hnt  no  answer :  the  dog  remained  without 
name,  his  master  without  parsonage.  Meanwhile  the  summer 
passed  away ;  and  the  Dragoon  Eittmeister  had  yet  drawn  out  no 
pike  from  the  Candidate  breeding-pond,  and  thrown  him  into  the 
feeding-pond  of  the  Hukelum  parsonage.  It  gratified  him  to  be 
behung  with  prayers  like  a  Spanish  guardian  Saint ;  and  he  post- 
poned (though  determined  to  prefer  the  Subrector)  granting  any 
one  petition,  till  he  had  seven-and-thirty  dyers',  buttonmakers', 
tinsmiths'  sons,  whose  petitions  he  could  at  the  same  time  refuse. 
Grudge  not  him  of  Auf  hammer  this  outlengthening  of  his  elec- 
toral power !  He  knows  the  privileges  of  rank ;  feels  that  a 
nobleman  is  like  Timoleon,  who  gained  his  greatest  victories  on 
his  birthday,  and  had  nothing  more  to  do  than  name  some  squire ss, 
countess,  or  the  like,  as  his  mother.  A  man,  however,  who  has 
been  exalted  to  the  Peerage,  while  still  a  foetus,  may  with  more 
propriety  be  likened  to  the  spinner,  which,  contrariwise  to  all 
other  insects,  passes  from  the  chrysalis  state,  and  becomes  a  per- 
fect insect  in  its  mother's  womb. — 

But  to  proceed  !  Fixlein  was  at  present  not  without  cash.  It 
will  be  the  same  as  if  I  made  a  present  of  it  to  the  reader,  when 
I  reveal  to  him,  that  of  the  legacy,  which  was  clearing  off  old 
scores,  he  had  still  thirty-five  florins  left  to  himself,  as  allodium 
and  pocket  -  money,  wherewith  he  might  purchase  whatsoever 
seemed  good  to  him.  And  how  came  he  by  so  large  a  sum,  by 
so  considerable  a  competence  ?  Simply  by  this  means :  Every 
time  he  changed  a  piece  of  gold,  and  especially  at  every  payment 
he  received,  it  had  been  his  custom  to  throw  in,  blindly  at  ran- 
dom, two,  three,  or  four  small  coins,  among  the  papers  of  his 
trunk.  His  purpose  was  to  astonish  himself  one  day,  when  he 
summed  up  and  took  possession  of  this  sleeping  capital.  And, 
by  Heaven !  he  reached  it  too,  when  on  mounting  the  throne  of 
his  Conrectorate,  he  drew  out  these  funds  from  among  his  papers, 
and  applied  them  to  the  coronation  charges.  For  the  present,  he 
sowed  them  in  again  among  his  waste  letters.  Foolish  Fixlein  ! 
I  mean,  had  he  not  luckily  exposed  his  legacy  to  jeopardy,  having 
offered  it  as  bounty-money,  and  luck-penny  to  the  patron,  this 
false  clutch  of  his  at  the  knocker  of  the  Hukelum  church.  -  door 


364 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


would  certainly  have  vexed  him ;  hut  now  if  he  had  missed  the 
knocker,  he  had  the  luck-penny  again,  and  could  be  merry. 

I  now  advance  a  little  way  in  his  History,  and  hit,  in  the  rock 
of  his  Life,  upon  so  fine  a  vein  of  silver,  I  mean  upon  so  fine  a 
day,  that  I  must  (I  believe)  content  myself  even  in  regard  to  the 
twenty-third  of  Trinity -term,  when  he  preached  a  vacation  sermon 
in  his  dear  native  village,  with  a  brief  transitory  notice. 

In  itself  the  sermon  was  good  and  glorious ;  and  the  day  a 
rich  day  of  pleasure  ;  but  I  should  really  need  to  have  more  hours 
at  my  disposal  than  I  can  steal  from  May,  in  which  I  am  at  pre- 
sent living  and  writing ;  and  more  strength  than  wandering  through 
this  fine  weather  has  left  me  for  landscape  pictures  of  the  same, 
before  I  could  attempt,  with  any  well-founded  hope,  to  draw  out 
a  mathematical  estimate  of  the  length  and  thickness,  and  the 
vibrations  and  accordant  relations  to  each  other,  of  the  various 
strings,  which  combined  together  to  form  for  his  heart  a  Music 
of  the  Spheres,  on  this  day  of  Trinity-term,  though  such  a  thing 

would  please  myself  as  much  as  another  Do  not  ask  me  ! 

In  my  opinion,  when  a  man  preaches  on  Sunday  before  all  the 
peasants,  who  had  carried  him  in  their  arms  when  a  gardener's 
boy;  farther,  before  his  mother,  who  is  leading  off  her  tears 
through  the  conduit  of  her  satin  muff ;  farther,  before  his  Lord- 
ship, whom  he  can  positively  command  to  be  blessed ;  and  finally, 
before  his  muslin  bride,  who  is  already  blessed,  and  changing 
almost  into  stone,  to  find  that  the  same  lips  can  both  kiss  and 
preach  :  in  my  opinion,  I  say,  when  a  man  effects  all  this,  he  has 
some  right  to  require  of  any  Biographer  who  would  paint  his 
situation,  that  he — hold  his  jaw ;  and  of  the  reader  who  would 
sympathise  with  it,  that  he  open  his,  and  preach  himself.  

But  what  I  must  ex  officio  depict,  is  the  day  to  which  this 
Sunday  was  but  the  prelude,  the  vigil  and  the  whet ;  I  mean  the 
prelude,  the  vigil  and  the  whet  to  the  Martini  Actus,  or  Martin- 
mas Exhibition,  of  his  school.  On  Sunday  was  the  Sermon,  on 
Wednesday  the  Actus,  on  Tuesday  the  Kehearsal.  This  Tuesday 
shall  now  be  delineated  to  the  universe. 

I  count  upon  it  that  I  shall  not  be  read  by  mere  people  of  the 
world  alone,  to  whom  a  School-Actus  cannot  truly  appear  much 
better,  or  more  interesting,  than  some  Investiture  of  a  Bishop,  or 
the  opera  seria  of  a  Frankfort  Coronation ;  but  that  I  likewise 
have  people  before  me,  who  have  been  at  schools,  and  who  know 
how  the  school-drama  of  an  Actus,  and  the  stage-manager,  and 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLETN. 


865 


the  playbill  (the  Program)  thereof  are  to  be  estimated,  still  with- 
out overrating  their  importance. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  Kehearsal  of  the  Martini  Actus,  I 
impose  upon  myself,  as  dramaturgist  of  the  play,  the  duty,  if  not 
of  extracting,  at  least  of  recording  the  Conrector's  Letter  of  In- 
vitation. In  this  composition  he  said  many  things ;  and  (what 
an  author  likes  so  well)  made  proposals  rather  than  reproaches ; 
interrogatively  reminding  the  public,  Whether  in  regard  to  the 
well-known  head-breakages  of  Priscian  on  the  part  of  the  Mag- 
nates in  Pest  and  Poland,  our  school-houses  were  not  the  best 
quarantine  and  lazar-houses  to  protect  us  against  infectious  bar- 
barisms ?  Moreover,  he  defended  in  schools  what  could  be  de- 
fended (and  nothing  in  the  world  is  sweeter  or  easier  than  a  de- 
fence) ;  and  said,  Schoolmasters,  who  not  quite  justifiably,  like 
certain  Courts,  spoke  nothing,  and  let  nothing  be  spoken  to  them 
but  Latin,  might  plead  the  Romans  in  excuse,  whose  subjects, 
and  whose  kings,  at  least  in  their  epistles  and  public  transactions, 
were  obliged  to  make  use  of  the  Latin  tongue.  He  wondered  why 
only  our  Greek,  and  not  also  our  Latin  Grammars,  were  com- 
posed in  Latin,  and  put  the  pregnant  question :  Whether  the 
Romans,  when  they  taught  their  little  children  the  Latin  tongue, 
did  it  in  any  other  than  in  this  same  ?  Thereupon  he  went  over 
to  the  Actus,  and  said  what  follows,  in  his  own  words : 

"I  am  minded  to  prove,  in  a  subsequent  Invitation,  that 
everything  which  can  be  said  or  known  about  the  great  founder 
of  the  Reformation,  the  subject  of  our  present  Martini  Prolusions, 
has  been  long  ago  exhausted,  as  well  by  Seckendorf  as  others. 
In  fact,  with  regard  to  Luther's  personalities,  his  table-talk,  in- 
comes, journeys,  clothes,  and  so  forth,  there  can  now  nothing  new 
be  brought  forward,  if  at  the  same  time  it  is  to  be  true.  Never- 
theless, the  field  of  the  Reformation  history  is,  to  speak  in  a 
figure,  by  no  means  wholly  cultivated ;  and  it  does  appear  to  me 
as  if  the  inquirer  even  of  the  present  day  might  in  vain  look 
about  for  correct  intelligence  respecting  the  children,  grandchil- 
dren and  children's  children,  down  to  our  own  times,  of  this  great 
Reformer ;  all  of  whom,  however,  appertain,  in  a  more  remote 
degree,  to  the  Reformation  history,  as  he  himself  in  a  nearer. 
Thou  shalt  not  perhaps  be  threshing,  said  I  to  myself,  altogether 
empty  straw,  if,  according  to  thy  small  ability,  thou  bring  for- 
ward and  cultivate  this  neglected  branch  of  History.  And  so  have 
I  ventured,  with  the  last  male  descendant  of  Luther,  namely,  with 


966 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


the  Advocate  Martin  Gottlob  Luther,  who  practised  in  Dresden, 
and  deceased  there  in  1759,  to  make  a  beginning  of  a  more  spe- 
cial Eeformation  history.  My  feeble  attempt,  in  regard  to  this 
Reformationary  Advocate,  will  be  sufficiently  rewarded,  should  it 
excite  to  better  works  on  the  subject :  however,  the  little  which 
I  have  succeeded  in  digging  up  and  collecting  with  regard  to  him 
I  here  submissively,  obediently,  and  humbly  request  all  friends 
and  patrons  of  the  Flachsenfingen  Gymnasium  to  listen  to,  on  the 
14th  of  November,  from  the  mouths  of  six  well-conditioned  pero- 
rators.    In  the  first  place,  shall 

"  Gottlieb  Spiesglass,  a  Flachsenfinger,  endeavour  to  show, 
in  a  Latin  oration,  that  Martin  Gottlob  Luther  was  certainly  de- 
scended of  the  Luther  family.    After  him  strives 

"  Friedrich  Christian  Krabbler,  from  Hukelum,  in  German 
prose,  to  appreciate  the  influence  which  Martin  Gottlob  Luther 
exercised  on  the  then  existing  Reformation ;  whereupon,  after 
him,  will 

"Daniel  Lorenz  Stenzinger  deliver,  in  Latin  verse,  an  ac- 
count of  Martin  Gottlob  Luther's  lawsuits ;  embracing  the  pro- 
bable merits  of  Advocates  generally,  in  regard  to  the  Reforma- 
tion.   Which  then  will  give  opportunity  to 

"  Nikol  Tobias  Pfizman  to  come  forward  in  French,  and  re- 
count the  most  important  circumstances  of  Martin  Gottlob 
Luther's  school-years,  university-life  and  riper  age.  And  now, 
when 

"Andreas  Eintarm  shall  have  endeavoured,  in  German  verse, 
to  apologise  for  the  possible  failings  of  this  representative  of  the 
great  Luther,  will 

"Justus  Strobel,  in  Latin  verse  according  to  ability,  sing  his 
uprightness  and  integrity  in  the  Advocate  profession  ;  whereafter 
I  myself  shall  mount  the  cathedra,  and  most  humbly  thank  all 
the  patrons  of  the  Flachsenfingen  School,  and  then  farther  bring 
forward  those  portions  in  the  life  of  this  remarkable  man,  of  which 
we  yet  know  absolutely  nothing,  they  being  spared  Deo  volente 
for  the  speakers  of  the  next  Martini  Actus." 


The  day  before  the  Actus  offered  as  it  were  the  proof-shot 
and  sample-sheet  of  the  Wednesday.  Persons  who  on  account 
of  dress  could  not  be  present  at  the  gredl  school-festival,  espe- 


LIFE  OF  QTJINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


367 


cially  ladies,  made  their  appearance  on  Tuesday,  during  the  six 
proof-orations.  No  one  can  be  readier  than  I  to  Subordinate  the 
proof -Actus  to  the  Wednesday- Actus ;  and  I  do  anything  but 
need  being  stimulated  suitably  to  estimate  the  solemn  feast  of  a 
School ;  but  on  the  other  hand  I  am  equally  convinced  that  no 
one,  who  did  not  go  to  the  real  Actus  of  Wednesday,  could  pos- 
sibly figure  anything  more  splendid  than  the  proof-day  preceding ; 
because  he  could  have  no  object  wherewith  to  compare  the  pomp 
in  which  the  Primate  of  the  festival  drove  in  with  his  triumphal 
chariot  and  six — to  call  the  six  brethren-speakers  coach-horses 
— next  morning  in  presence  of  ladies  and  Councillor  gentlemen. 
Smile  away,  Fixlein,  at  this  astonishment  over  thy  today's  Ova- 
tion, which  is  leading  on  tomorrow's  Triumph :  on  thy  dissolving 
countenance  quivers  happy  Self,  feeding  on  these  incense-fumes ; 
but  a  vanity  like  thine,  and  that  only,  which  enjoys  without  com- 
paring or  despising,  can  one  tolerate,  will  one  foster.  But  what 
flowed  over  all  his  heart,  like  a  melting  sunbeam  over  wax,  was 
his  mother,  who  after  much  persuasion  had  ventured  in  her  Sun- 
day clothes  humbly  to  place  herself  quite  low  down,  beside  the 
door  of  the  Prima  class-room.  It  were  difficult  to  say  who  is 
happier,  the  mother,  beholding  how  he  whom  she  has  borne  un- 
der her  heart  can  direct  such  noble  young  gentlemen,  and  hearing 
how  he  along  with  them  can  talk  of  these  really  high  things  and 
understand  them  too ; — or  the  son,  who,  like  some  of  the  heroes 
of  Antiquity,  has  the  felicity  of  triumphing  in  the  lifetime  of  his 
mother.  I  have  never  in  my  writings  or  doings  cast  a  stone  upon 
the  late  Burchardt  Grossmann,  who  under  the  initial  letters  of 
the  stanzas  in  his  song,  "  Brick  an,  du  liebe  Morgenrothe,"  in- 
serted the  letters  of  his  own  name ;  and  still  less  have  I  ever 
censured  any  poor  herbwoman  for  smoothing  out  her  winding- 
sheet,  while  still  living,  and  making  herself  one-twelfth  of  a  dozen 
of  grave -shifts.  Nor  do  I  regard  the  man  as  wise — though  in- 
deed as  very  clever  and  pedantic — who  can  fret  his  gall-bladder 
full  because  every  one  of  us  leaf-miners  views  the  leaf  whereon 
he  is  mining  as  a  park-garden,  as  a  fifth  Quarter  of  the  World 
(so  near  and  rich  is  it) ;  the  leaf-pores  as  so  many  Valleys  of 
Tempe,  the  leaf-skeleton  as  a  Liberty-tree,  a  Bread-tree  and  Life- 
tree,  and  the  dew-drops  as  the  Ocean.  We  poor  day-moths, 
evening-moths  and  night-moths,  fall  universally  into  the  same 
error,  only  on  different  leaves ;  and  whosoever  (as  I  do)  laughs 
at  the  important  airs  with  which  the  schoolmaster  issues  his 


368 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


programs,  the  dramaturgist  his  playbills,  the  classical  variation- 
alms-gatherer  his  alphabetic  letters, — does  it,  if  he  is  wise  (as  is 
the  case  here),  with  the  consciousness  of  his  own  similar  folly; 
and  laughs  in  regard  to  his  neighbour,  at  nothing  but  mankind 
and  himself. 

The  mother  was  not  to  be  detained ;  she  must  off,  this  very 
night,  to  Hukelum,  to  give  the  Fraulein  Thiennette  at  least  some 
tidings  of  this  glorious  business. — 

And  now  the  World  will  bet  a  hundred  to  one,  that  I  forth- 
with take  biographical  wax,  and  emboss  such  a  wax-figure  cabinet 
of  the  Actus  itself  as  shall  be  single  of  its  kind. 

But  on  Wednesday  morning,  while  the  hope-intoxicated  Con- 
rector  was  just  about  putting  on  his  fine  raiment,  something 
knocked.  

It  was  the  well-known  servant  of  the  Eittmeister,  carrying 
the  Hukelum  Presentation  for  the  Subrector  Fiichshm  in  his 
pocket.  To  the  last-named  gentleman  he  had  been  sent  with 
this  call  to  the  parsonage :  but  he  had  distinguished  ill  betwixt 
Sub  and  Corrector;  and  had  besides  his  own  good  reasons  for 
directing  his  steps  to  the  latter  ;  for  he  thought :  "  Who  can  it 
be  that  gets  it,  but  the  parson  that  preached  last  Sunday,  and 
that  comes  from  the  village,  and  is  engaged  to  our  Fraulein 
Thiennette,  and  to  whom  I  brought  a  clock  and  a  roll  of  ducats 
already?"  That  his  Lordship  could  pass  over  his  own  godson, 
never  entered  the  man's  head. 

Fixlein  read  the  address  of  the  Appointment :  "To  the  Ke- 
verend  the  Parson  Fixlein  of  Hukelum."  He  naturally  enough 
made  the  same  mistake  as  the  lackey ;  and  broke  up  the  Pre- 
sentation as  his  own :  and  finding  moreover  in  the  body  of  the 
paper  no  special  mention  of  persons,  but  only  of  a  Schul-unter- 
befehlshaber  or  School-undergo vernor  (instead  of  Subrector),  he 
could  not  but  persist  in  his  error.  Before  I  properly  explain  why 
the  Rittmeister's  Lawyer,  the  framer  of  the  Presentation,  had  so 
designated  a  Subrector — we  two,  the  reader  and  myself,  will  keep 
an  eye  for  a  moment  on  Fixlein's  joyful  saltations — on  his  grate- 
fully-streaming eyes  —  on  his  full  hands  so  laden  with  bounty — 
on  the  present  of  two  ducats,  which  he  drops  into  the  hands  of 
the  mitre-bearer,  as  willingly  as  he  will  soon  drop  his  own  peda- 
gogic office.  Could  he  tell  what  to  think  (of  the  Rittmeister),  or 
to  write  (to  the  same),  or  to  table  (for  the  lackey)?  Did  he  not 
ask  tidings  of  the  noble  health  of  his  benefactor  over  and  over, 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


369 


though  the  servant  answered  him  with  all  distinctness  at  the  very 
first  ?  And  was  not  this  same  man,  who  belonged  to  the  nose- 
upturning,  shoulder-shrugging,  shoulder-knotted,  toad-eating  spe- 
cies of  men,  at  last  so  moved  by  the  joy  which  he  had  imparted, 
that  he  determined  on  the  spot,  to  bestow  his  presence  on  the 
new  clergyman's  School- Actus,  though  no  person  of  quality  what- 
ever was  to  be  there?  Fixlein,  in  the  first  place,  sealed  his 
letter  of  thanks  ;  and  courteously  invited  this  messenger  of  good 
news  to  visit  him  frequently  in  the  Parsonage ;  and  to  call  this 
evening  in  passing  at  his  mother's,  and  give  her  a  lecture  for  not 
staying  last  night,  when  she  might  have  seen  the  Presentation 
from  his  Lordship  arrive  today. 

The  lackey  being  gone,  Fixlein  for  joy  began  to  grow  scep- 
tical— and  timorous  (wherefore,  to  prevent  filching,  he  stowed  his 
Presentation  securely  in  his  coffer,  under  keeping  of  two  padlocks) ; 
and  devout  and  softened,  since  he  thanked  God  without  scruple 
for  all  good  that  happened  to  him,  and  never  wrote  this  Eternal 
Name  but  in  pulpit  characters  and  with  coloured  ink,  as  the  Jew- 
ish copyists  never  wrote  it  except  in  ornamental  letters  and  when 
newly  washed;23 — and  deaf  also  did  the  parson  grow,  so  that  he 
scarcely  heard  the  soft  wooing-hour  of  the  Actus — for  a  still 
softer  one  beside  Thiennette,  with  its  rose-bushes  and  rose-honey, 
would  not  leave  his  thoughts.  He  who  of  old,  when  Fortune 
made  a  wry  face  at  him,  was  wont,  like  children  in  their  sport  at 
one  another,  to  laugh  at  her  so  long  till  she  herself  was  obliged 
to  begin  smiling, — he  was  now  flying  as  on  a  huge  seesaw  higher 
and  higher,  quicker  and  quicker  aloft. 

But  before  the  Actus,  let  us  examine  the  Schadeck  Lawyer. 
Fixlein  instead  of  Fiichsleinu  he  had  written  from  uncertainty 
about  the  spelling  of  the  name ;  the  more  naturally  as  in  tran- 
scribing the  Kittmeisterinn's  will,  the  former  had  occurred  so  often. 
Von,  this  triumphal  arch  he  durst  not  set  up  before  Fuchslein's 
new  name,  because  Aufhammer  forbade  it,  considering  Hans 
Fuchslein  as  a  mushroom  who  had  no  right  to  vons  and  titles  oi 
nobility,  for  all  his  patents.  In  fine,  the  Presentation-writer  was 
possessed  with  Campe's25  whim  of  Germanising  everything,  mind- 

23  Eichhorn's  Einleit.  ins  A.  T.  (Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament),  vol.  ii. 

24  Both  have  the  same  sound.    Fiichslein  means  Foxling,  Foxwhelp. — Ed  . 

s;i  Campe,  a  German  philologist,  who,  along  with  several  others  of  that  class, 
has  really  proposed,  as  represented  in  the  Text,  to  substitute  for  all  Greek  or 
Latin  derivatives  corresponding  German  terms  of  the  like  import.  Geography, 
which  may  be  Erdbeschreibung  (Earth-description),  was  thenceforth  to  be  no- 
VOL.  in.  BB 


370 


JE<LN  PAUL  FKIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


ing  little  though  when  Germanised  it  should  cease  to  be  intelli- 
gible ; — as  if  a  word  needed  any  better  act  of  naturalisation  than 
that  which  universal  intelligibility  imparts  to  it.  In  itself  it  is 
the  same — the  rather  as  all  languages,  like  all  men,  are  cognate, 
intermarried  and  intermixed — whether  a  word  was  invented  by  a 
savage  or  a  foreigner ;  whether  it  grew  up  like  moss  amid  the 
German  forests,  or  like  street-grass,  in  the  pavement  of  the  Ro- 
man forum.  The  Lawyer,  on  the  other  hand,  contended  that  it 
was  different ;  and  accordingly  he  hid  not  from  any  of  his  clients 
that  Tagefarth  (Day-turn)  meant  Term,  and  that  Appealing  was 
Berufen  (Becalling).  On  this  principle  he  dressed  the  word  Sub- 
rector  in  the  new  livery  of  School-under  governor.  And  this  ver- 
sion farther  converted  the  Schoolmaster  into  Parson :  to  such  a 
degree  does  our  civic  fortune — not  our  personal  well-being,  which 
supports  itself  on  our  own  internal  soil  and  resources — grow 
merely  on  the  drift-mould  of  accidents,  connexions,  acquaintances, 
and  Heaven  or  the  Devil  knows  what ! — 

By  the  by,  from  a  Lawyer,  at  the  same  time  a  Country  Judge, 
I  should  certainly  have  looked  for  more  sense ;  I  should  (I  may 
be  mistaken)  have  presumed  he  knew  that  the  Acts  or  Reports, 
which  in  former  times  (see  Hoffmann's  German  or  un-German 
Law-practice)  were  written  in  Latin,  as  before  the  times  of  Joseph 
the  Hungarian, — are  now,  if  we  may  say  so  without  offence,  per- 
haps written  fully  more  in  the  German  dialect  than  in  the  Latin; 
and  in  support  of  this  opinion,  I  can  point  to  whole  lines  of  Ger- 
man language,  to  be  found  in  these  Imperial-Court-Confessions. 
However,  I  will  not  believe  that  the  Jurist  is  endeavouring,  be- 
cause Imhofer  declares  the  Roman  tongue  to  be  the  mother  tongue 
in  the  other  world,  to  disengage  himself  from  a  language,  by 
means  of  which,  like  the  Roman  Eagle,  or  later,  like  the  Roman 
Fish-heron  (Pope),  he  has  clutched  such  abundant  booty  in  his 
talons.  

Toll,  toll  your  bell  for  the  Actus ;  stream  in,  in  to  the  cere- 
mony :  who  cares  for  it  ?  Neither  I  nor  the  Ex-Conrector.  The 
six  pigmy  Ciceros  will  in  vain  set  forth  before  us  in  sumptuous 
dress  their  thoughts  and  bodies.  The  draught-wind  of  Chance 
has  blown  away  from  the  Actus  its  powder-nimbus  of  glory ;  and 

thing  else ;  a  Geometer  "became  an  Earthmeasurer,  &c.  &c.  School-undergo- 
vernor,  instead  of  Subrector,  is  by  no  means  the  happiest  example  of  the  system, 
and  seems  due  rather  to  the  Schadeck  Lawyer  tlian  to  Campe,  whom  our  Author 
has  elsewhere  more  than  once  eulogised  for  his  project  in  similar  style. — Ed. 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN.  371 

the  Conrector  that  was  has  discovered  how  small  a  matter  a  ca- 
thedra is,  and  how  great  a  one  a  pulpit :  "I  should  not  have 
thought,"  thought  he  now,  "  when  I  became  Conrector,  that 
there  could  be  anything  grander,  I  mean  a  Parson."  Man,  be- 
hind his  everlasting  blind,  which  he  only  colours  differently,  and 
makes  no  thinner,  carries  his  pride  with  him  from  one  step  to 
another ;  and,  on  the  higher  step,  blames  only  the  pride  of  the 
lower. 

The  best  of  the  Actus  was,  that  the  Kegiments- Quartermaster, 
and  Master  Butcher,  Steinberg,  attended  there,  embaled  in  a 
long  woollen  shag.  During  the  solemnity,  the  Subrector  Hans 
von  Fiichslein  cast  several  gratified  and  inquiring  glances  on  the 
Schadeck  servant,  who  did  not  once  look  at  him :  Hans  would 
have  staked  his  head,  that  after  the  Actus,  the  fellow  would  wait 
upon  him.  When  at  last  the  sextuple  cockerel-brood  had  on  their 
dunghill  done  crowing,  that  is  to  say,  had  perorated,  the  scholas- 
tic cocker,  over  whom  a  higher  banner  was  now  waving,  himself 
came  upon  the  stage  ;  and  delivered  to  the  School-Inspectorships, 
to  the  Subrectorship,  to  the  Guardianship  and  the  Lackeyship, 
his  most  grateful  thanks  for  their  attendance  ;  shortly  announcing 
to  them  at  the  same  time,  "  that  Providence  had  now  called  him 
from  his  post  to  another ;  and  committed  to  him,  unworthy  as  he 
was,  the  cure  of  souls  in  the  Hukelum  parish,  as  well  as  in  the 
Schadeck  chapel  of  ease." 

This  little  address,  to  appearance,  well-nigh  blew  up  the  then 
Subrector  Hans  von  Fiichslein  from  his  chair ;  and  his  face  looked 
of  a  mingled  colour,  like  red  bole,  green  chalk,  tinsel-vellow  and 
vomissement  de  la  reine. 

The  tall  Quartermaster  erected  himself  considerably  in  his 
shag,  and  hummed  loud  enough  in  happy  forgetfulness :  "  The 
Dickens  ! — Parson  ?"  

The  Subrector  dashed-by  like  a  comet  before  the  lackey :  or- 
dered him  to  call  and  take  a  letter  for  his  master ;  strode  home, 
and  prepared  for  his  patron,  who  at  Schadeck  was  waiting  for  a 
long  thanksgiving  psalm,  a  short  satirical  epistle,  as  nervous  as 
haste  would  permit,  and  mingled  a  few  nicknames  and  verbal 
injuries  along  with  it. 

The  courier  handed  in,  to  his  master,  Fixlein's  song  of  grati- 
tude, and  Fiichslein's  invectives,  with  the  same  hand.  The  Dra- 
goon Rittmeister,  incensed  at  the  ill-mannered  churl,  and  bound 
to  his  word,  which  Fixlein  had  publicly  announced  in  his  Actus, 


372 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


forthwith  wrote  back  to  the  new  Parson  an  acceptance  and  ratifi- 
cation ;  and  Fixlein  is  and  remains,  to  the  joy  of  us  all,  incon- 
testable ordained  parson  of  Hukelum. 

His  disappointed  rival  has  still  this  consolation,  that  he  holds 
a  seat  in  the  wasp-nest  of  the  Neue  Allgemeine  Deutsche  Biblio- 
thek.26  Should  the  Parson  ever  chrysalise  himself  into  an  author, 
the  watch-wasp  may  then  buzz  out,  and  dart  its  sting  into  the 
chrysalis,  and  put  its  own  brood  in  the  room  of  the  murdered 
butterfly.  As  the  Subrector  everywhere  went  about,  and  threat- 
ened in  plain  terms  that  he  would  review  his  colleague,  let  not 
the  public  be  surprised  that  Fixlein's  Errata,  and  his  Masoretic 
Exercitationes ,  are  to  this  hour  withheld  from  it. 

In  spring,  the  widowed  church  receives  her  new  husband ; 
and  how  it  will  be,  when  Fixlein,  under  a  canopy  of  flower-trees, 
takes  the  Sponsa  Christi  in  one  hand,  and  his  own  Sponsa  in  the 
other, — this,  without  an  Eighth  Letter-Box,  which,  in  the  pre- 
sent case,  may  be  a  true  jewel-box  and  rainbow -key,27  can  no 
mortal  figure,  except  the  Sponsus  himself. 


EIGHTH  LETTEK-BOX. 

Instalment  in  the  Parsonage. 

On  the  15th  of  April  1793,  the  reader  may  observe,  far  down 
in  the  hollow,  three  baggage-wagons  groaning  along.  These  bag- 
gage-wagons are  transporting  the  house-gear  of  the  new  Parson 
to  Hukelum :  the  proprietor  himself,  with  a  little  escort  of  his 
parishioners,  is  marching  at  their  side,  that  of  his  china  sets  and 
household  furniture  there  may  be  nothing  broken  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  as  the  whole  came  down  to  him  unbroken  from  the  seven- 
teenth. Fixlein  hears  the  School-bell  ringing  behind  him ;  but 
this  chime  now  sings  to  him,  like  a  curfew,  the  songs  of  future 
rest :  he  is  now  escaped  from  the  Death-valley  of  the  Gymnasium, 
and  admitted  into  the  abodes  of  the  Blessed.  Here  dwells  no 
envy,  no  colleague,  no  Subrector ;  here  in  the  heavenly  country, 
no  man  works  in  the  New  Universal  German  Library ;  here,  in 

26  New  Universal  German  Library,  a  reviewing  periodical ;  in  those  days  con- 
ducted by  Nicolai,  a  sworn  enemy  to  what  has  since  been  called  the  New  School. 
(See  Tieck,  ante) — Ed. 

37  Superstition  declares,  that  on  the  spot  where  the  rainbow  rises,  a  golden 
key  is  left. 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


373 


the  heavenly  Hukelumic  Jerusalem,  they  do  nothing  I  lit  sing 
praises  in  the  church ;  and  here  the  Perfected  requires  no  more 
increase  of  knowledge  ....  Here  too  one  need  not  sorrow  that 
Sunday  and  Saint's  day  so  often  fall  together  into  one. 

Truth  to  tell,  the  Parson  goes  too  far :  hut  it  was  his  way 
from  of  old  never  to  paint  out  the  whole  and  half  shadows  of  a 
situation,  till  he  was  got  into  a  new  one ;  the  beauties  of  which 
he  could  then  enhance  by  contrast  with  the  former.  For  it  re- 
quires little  reflection  to  discover  that  the  torments  of  a  school- 
master are  nothing  so  extraordinary ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  as  in 
the  Gymnasium,  he  mounts  from  one  degree  to  another,  not  very 
dissimilar  to  the  common  torments  of  Hell,  which,  in  spite  of 
their  eternity,  grow  weaker  from  century  to  century.  Moreover, 
since,  according  to  the  saying  of  a  Frenchman,  deux  afflictions 
mises  ensemble  peuvent  devenir  une  consolation,  a  man  gets  afflic- 
tions enow  in  a  school  to  console  him ;  seeing  out  of  eight  com- 
bined afflictions — I  reckon  only  one  for  every  teacher — certainly 
more  comfort  is  to  be  extracted  than  out  of  two.  The  only  pity 
is,  that  school-people  will  never  act  towards  each  other  as  court- 
people  do  :  none  but  polished  men  and  polished  glasses  will  readily 
cohere.  In  addition  to  all  this,  in  schools — and  in  offices  gener- 
ally— one  is  always  recompensed :  for,  as  in  the  second  life,  a 
greater  virtue  is  the  recompense  of  an  earthly  one,  so,  in  the 
Schoolmaster's  case,  his  merits  are  always  rewarded  by  more  op- 
portunities for  new  merits ;  and  often  enough  he  is  not  dismissed 
from  his  post  at  all. — 

Eight  Gymnasiasts  are  trotting  about  in  the  Parsonage,  set- 
ting up,  nailing  to,  hauling  in.  I  think,  as  a  scholar  of  Plutarch, 
I  am  right  to  introduce  such  seeming  minutice.  A  man  whom 
grown-up  people  love,  children  love  still  more.  The  whole  school 
had  smiled  on  the  smiling  Fixlein,  and  liked  him  in  their  hearts, 
because  he  did  not  thunder,  but  sport  with  them ;  because  he 
said  Sie  (They)  to  the  Secundaners,  and  the  Subrector  said  Ihr 
(Ye) ;  because  his  uprearing  forefinger  was  his  only  sceptre  and 
baculus ;  because  in  the  Secunda  he  had  interchanged  Latin  epis- 
tles with  his  scholars ;  and  in  the  Quinta,  had  taught  not  with 
Napier's  Eods  (or  rods  of  a  sharper  description),  but  with  sticks 
of  barley-sugar. 

Today  his  churchyard  appeared  to  him  so  solemn  and  festive, 
that  he  wondered  (though  it  was  Monday)  why  his  parishioners 
were  not  in  their  holiday,  but  merely  in  their  weekday  drapery. 


874 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


Under  the  door  of  the  Parsonage  stood  a  weeping  woman ;  for 
she  was  too  happy,  and  he  was  her — son.  Yet  the  mother,  in 
'  the  height  of  her  emotion,  contrives  quite  readily  to  call  upon 
the  carriers,  while  disloading,  not  to  twist  off  the  four  corner 
globes  from  the  old  Frankish  chest  of  drawers.  Her  son  now 
appeared  to  her  as  venerable,  as  if  he  had  sat  for  one  of  the 
copperplates  in  her  pictured  Bible ;  and  that  simply,  because  he 
had  cast  off  his  pedagogue  hair-cue,  as  the  ripening  tadpole  does 
its  tail ;  and  was  now  standing  in  a  clerical  periwig  before  her : 
he  was  now  a  Comet,  soaring  away  from  the  profane  Earth, 
and  had  accordingly  changed  from  a  stella  caudata  into  a  stella 
crinita. 

His  bride  also  had,  on  former  days,  given  sedulous  assistance 
in  this  new  improved  edition  of  his  house,  and  laboured  faithfully 
among  the  other  furnishers  and  furbishers.  But  today  she  kept 
aloof;  for  she  was  too  good  to  forget  the  maiden  in  the  bride. 
Love,  like  men,  dies  oftener  of  excess  than  of  hunger ;  it  lives 
on  love,  but  it  resembles  those  Alpine  flowers,  which  feed  them- 
selves by  suction  from  the  wet  clouds,  and  die  if  you  besprinkle 
them.- — 

At  length  the  Parson  is  settled,  and  of  course  he  must — for 
I  know  my  fair  readers,  who  are  bent  on  it  as  if  they  were  bride- 
maids — without  delay  get  married.  But  he  may  not :  before 
Ascension-day  there  can  nothing  be  done,  and  till  then  are  full 
four  weeks  and  a  half.  The  matter  was  this  :  He  wished  in  the 
first  place  to  have  the  murder- Sunday,  the  Cantata,  behind  him ; 
not  indeed  because  he  doubted  of  his  earthly  continuance,  but  be- 
cause he  would  not  (even  for  the  bride's  sake)  that  the  slightest 
apprehension  should  mingle  with  these  weeks  of  glory. 

The  main  reason  was,  He  did  not  wish  to  marry  till  he  were 
betrothed  :  which  latter  ceremony  was  appointed,  with  the  Intro- 
duction Sermon,  to  take  place  next  Sunday.  It  is  the  Cantata- 
Sunday.  Let  not  the  reader  afflict  himself  with  fears.  Indeed, 
I  should  not  have  molested  an  enlightened  century  with  this 
Sunday -Wauwau  at  all,  were  it  not  that  I  delineate  with  such 
extreme  fidelity.  Fixlein  himself — especially  as  the  Quarter- 
master asked  him  if  he  was  a  baby— at  last  grew  so  sensible,  that 
he  saw  the  folly  of  it ;  nay,  he  went  so  far,  that  he  committed  a 
greater  folly.  For  as  dreaming  that  you  die  signifies,  according 
to  the  exegetic  rule  of  false,  nothing  else  than  long  life  and  wel- 
fare, so  did  Fixlein  easily  infer  that  his  death -imagination  was 


LIFE  OF  QUIKTUa  FIXLEIH. 


375 


just  such  a  lucky  dream  ;  the  rather  as  it  was  precisely  on  this 
Cantata- Sunday  that  Fortune  had  turned  up  her  cornucopia  over 
him,  and  at  once  showered  down  out  of  it  a  "bride,  a  presentation 
and  a  roll  of  ducats.  Thus  can  Superstition  imp  its  wings,  let 
Chance  favour  it  or  not. 

A  Secretary  of  State,  a  Peace-treaty  writer,  a  Notary,  any 
such  incarcerated  Slave  of  the  Desk,  feels  excellently  well  how 
far  he  is  beneath  a  Parson  composing  his  inaugural  serruon.  The 
latter  (do  but  look  at  my  Fixlein  >  lays  himself  heartily  over  the 
paper — injects  the  venous  system  of  his  sermon-preparation  with 
coloured  ink — has  a  Text -Concordance  on  the  right  side,  and  a 
Song- Concordance  on  the  left ;  is  there  digging  out  a  marrowy 
sentence,  here  chpping  off  a  song-blossom,  with  both  to  garnish 
his  homiletic  pastry ; — sketches  out  the  finest  plan  of  operations, 
not,  like  a  man  of  the  world,  to  subdue  the  heart  of  one  woman, 
but  the  hearts  of  all  women  that  hear  him,  and  of  their  husbands 
to  boot ; — draws  every  peasant  passing  by  his  window  into  some 
niche  of  his  discourse,  to  cooperate  with  the  result ; — and,  finally, 
scoops  out  the  butter  of  the  smooth  soft  hymn-book,  and  there- 
with exquisitely  fattens  the  black  broth  of  his  sermon,  which  is 
to  feed  five  thousand  men.  

At  last,  in  the  evening,  as  the  red  sun  is  dazzling  him  at  the 
desk,  he  can  rise  with  heart  free  from  guilt  ;  and,  amid  twittering 
sparrows  and  finches,  over  the  cherry-trees  encircling  the  parson- 
age, look  toward  the  west,  till  there  is  nothing  more  in  the  sky 
but  a  faint  gleam  among  the  clouds.  And  then  when  Fixlein, 
amid  the  tolling  of  the  evening  prayer-bell,  shirty  descends  the 
stair  to  his  cooking  mother,  there  must  be  some  miracle  in  the 
case,  if  for  him  whatever  has  been  done  or  baked,  or  served  up  in 

the  lower  regions,  is  not  right  and  good   A  bound,  after 

supper,  into  the  Castle ;  a  look  into  a  pure  loving  eye ;  a  word 
without  falseness  to  a  bride  without  falseness  ;  and  then  under 
the  coverlid,  a  soft-breathing  breast,  in  which  there  is  nothing 
but  Paradise,  a  sermon  and  evening  prayer  ......  I  swear,  with 

this  I  will  satisfy  a  Mythic  God,  who  has  left  his  Heaven,  and  is 
seeking  a  new  one  among  ns  here  below ! 

Can  a  mortal,  can  a  Me  in  the  wet  clay  of  Earth,  which  Death 
will  soon  dry  into  dust,  ask  more  in  one  week  than  Fixlein  is 
gathering  into  his  heart  ?  I  see  not  how :  At  least  I  should  sup- 
pose, if  such  a  dust-framed  being,  after  such  a  twenty-thousand 
prize  from  the  Lottery  ot  Chance,  could  require  aught  more,  it 


376  JEAN  PAUL  FEIEDEICH  RICHTEJEfc. 

would  at  most  be  the  twenty  -  one  -  thousand  prize,  namely,  the 
inaugural  discourse  itself. 

And  this  prize  our  Zebedaus  actually  drew  on  Sunday:  he 

preached — he  preached  with  unction,  he  did  it  before  the 

crowding,  rustling  press  of  people ;  before  his  Guardian,  and  be- 
fore the  Lord  of  Auf  hammer,  the  godfather  of  the  priest  and  the 
dog; — a  flock  with  whom  in  childhood  he  had  driven  out  the 
Castle  herds  about  the  pasture,  he  was  now,  himself  a  spiritual 
sheep-smearer,  leading  out  to  pasture ; — he  was  standing  to  the 
ankles  among  Candidates  and  Schoolmasters,  for  today  (what  none 
of  them  could)  at  the  altar,  with  the  nail  of  his  finger,  he  might 
scratch  a  large  cross  in  the  air,  baptisms  and  marriages  not  once 

mentioned  I  believe,  I  should  feel  less  scrupulous  than  I  do 

to  chequer  this  sunshiny  esplanade  with  that  thin  shadow  of  the 
grave,  which  the  preacher  threw  over  it,  when,  in  the  application, 
with  wet  heavy  eyes,  he  looked  round  over  the  mute  attentive 
chinch,  as  if  in  some  corner  of  it  he  would  seek  the  mouldering 
teacher  of  his  youth  and  of  this  congregation,  who  without,  under 
the  white  tombstone,  the  wrong-side  of  life,  had  laid  away  the 
garment  of  his  pious  spirit.  And  when  he,  himself  hurried  on  by 
the  internal  stream,  inexpressibly  softened  by  the  farther  recol- 
lections of  his  own  fear  of  death  on  this  day,  of  his  life  now  over- 
spread with  flowers  and  benefits,  of  his  entombed  benefactress 
resting  here  in  her  narrow  bed — when  he  now — before  the  dis- 
solving countenance  of  her  Mend,  his  Thiennette — overpowered, 
motionless  and  weeping,  looked  down  from  the  pulpit  to  the  doo' 
of  the  Schadeck  vault,  and  said  :  "  Thanks,  thou  pious  soul5  for 
the  good  thou  hast  done  to  this  flock  and  to  their  new  teacher ; 
and,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  may  the  dust  of  thy  god-fearing  and 
man-loving  breast  gather  itself,  transfigured  as  gold-dust,  round 
thy  reawakened  heavenly  heart," — was  there  an  eye  in  the  audience 
dry  ?  Her  husband  sobbed  aloud  ;  and  Thiennette,  her  beloved, 
bowed  her  head,  sinking  down  with  inconsolable  remembrances, 
over  the  front  of  the  seat,  like  kindred  mourners  in  a  funeral 
train. 

No  fairer  forenoon  could  prepare  the  way  for  an  afternoon  in 
which  a  man  was  to  betroth  himself  forever,  and  to  unite  the  ex- 
changed rings  with  the  Ring  of  Eternity.  Except  the  bridal  pair, 
there  was  none  present  but  an  ancient  pair ;  the  mother  and  the 
long  Guardian.  The  bridegroom  wrote  out  the  marriage-contract 
or  marriage -charter  with  his  own  hand ;  hereby  making  over  to 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


377 


his  bride,  from  this  day,  his  whole  moveable  property  (not,  as  yon 
may  suppose,  his  pocket-library,  but  his  whole  library;  whereas, 
in  the  Middle  Ages,  the  daughter  of  a  noble  was  glad  to  get  one 
or  two  books  for  marriage  -  portion) ; — in  return  for  which,  she 
liberally  enough  contributed — a  whole  nuptial  coach  or  car,  laden 
as  follows :  with  nine  pounds  of  feathers,  not  feathers  for  the  cap 
such  as  we  carry,  but  of  the  lighter  sort  such  as  carry  us  ; — with 
a  sumptuous  dozen  of  godchild-plates  and  godchild- spoons  (gifts 
from  Schadeck),  together  with  a  fish-knife ; — of  silk,  not  only 
stockings  (though  even  King  Henri  II.  of  France  could  dress  no 
more  than  his  legs  in  silk),  but  whole  gowns ; — with  jewels  and 
other  furnishings  of  smaller  value.  Good  Thiennette !  in  the 
chariot  of  thy  spirit  lies  the  true  dowry ;  namely,  thy  noble,  soft, 
modest  heart,  the  morning-gift  of  Nature  ! 

The  Parson, — who,  not  from  mistrust  but  from  "the  uncer- 
tainty of  life,"  could  have  wished  for  a  notary's  seal  on  every- 
thing ;  to  whom  no  security  but  a  hypothecary  one  appeared  suffi- 
cient, and  who,  in  the  depositing  of  every  barleycorn,  required 
quittances  and  contracts, — had  now,  when  the  marriage -charter 
was  completed,  a  lighter  heart ;  and  through  the  whole  evening 
the  good  man  ceased  not  to  thank  his  bride  for  what  she  had  given 
him.  To  me,  however,  a  marriage- contract  were  a  thing  as 
painful  and  repulsive, — I  confess  it  candidly,  though  you  should 
in  consequence  upbraid  me  with  my  great  youth, — as  if  I  had  to 
take  my  love-letter  to  a  Notary  Imperial,  and  make  him  docket 
and  countersign  it  before  it  could  be  sent.  Heavens  !  to  seethe 
light  flower  of  Love,  whose  perfume  acts  not  on  the  balance,  so 
laid  like  tulip -bulbs  on  the  hay-beam  of  Law ;  two  hearts  on  the 
cold  councillor-  and  flesh-beam  of  relatives  and  advocates,  who 
are  heaping  on  the  scales  nothing  but  houses,  fields  and  tin — 
this,  to  the  interested  party,  may  be  as  delightful  as,  to  the  in- 
toxicated suckling  and  nursling  of  the  Muses  and  Philosophy,  it 
is  to  carry  the  evening  and  morning  sacrifices  he  has  offered  up 
to  his  goddess  into  the  book-shop,  and  there  to  change  his  devo- 
tions into  money,  and  sell  them  by  weight  and  measure.  

From  Cantata- Sunday  to  Ascension,  that  is,  to  marriage-day, 
are  one  and  a  half  weeks — or  one  and  a  half  blissful  eternities. 
If  it  is  pleasant  that  nights  or  winter  separate  the  days  and 
seasons  of  joy  to  a  comfortable  distance ;  if,  for  example,  it  is 
pleasant  that  birthday,  Saint' s-day,  betrothment,  marriage  and 
baptismal  day,  do  not  all  occur  on  the  same  day  (for  with  very 


878 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTETt. 


few  do  those  festivities,  like  Holiday  and  Apostle's  day,  corn- 
merge), — then  is  it  still  more  pleasant  to  make  the  interval,  the 
flower-border,  between  betrothment  and  marriage,  of  an  extra- 
ordinary breadth.  Before  the  marriage-day  are  the  true  honey- 
weeks  ;  then  come  the  wax-weeks  ;  then  the  honey-vinegar-weeks. 

In  the  Ninth  Letter-Box,  our  Parson  celebrates  his  wedding ; 
?ind  here,  in  the  Eighth,  I  shall  just  briefly  skim  over  his  way 
and  manner  of  existence  till  then ;  an  existence,  as  might  have 
been  expected,  celestial  enough.  To  few  is  it  allotted,  as  it  was 
to  him,  to  have  at  once  such  wings  and  such  flowers  (to  fly  over) 
before  his  nuptials ;  to  few  is  it  allotted,  I  imagine,  to  purchase 
flour  and  poultry  on  the  same  day,  as  Fixlein  did ; — to  stuff  the 
wedding  -  turkey  with  hangman  -  meals  ; — to  go  every  night  into 
the  stall,  and  see  whether  the  wedding-pig,  which  his  Guardian 
has  given  him  by  way  of  marriage -present,  is  still  standing  and 
eating; — to  spy  out  for  his  future  wife  the  flax-magazines  and 
clothes-press-niches  in  the  house ; — to  lay  in  new  wood-stores  in 
the  prospect  of  winter ; — to  obtain  from  the  Consistorium  directly, 
and  for  little  smart-money,  their  Bull  of  Dispensation,  their  re- 
mission of  the  threefold  proclamation  of  banns  ; — to  live  not  in 
a  city,  where  you  must  send  to  every  fool  (because  you  are  one 
yourself;,  and  disclose  to  him  that  you  are  going  to  be  married; 
but  in  a  little  angular  hamlet,  where  you  have  no  one  to  tell  aught, 
but  simply  the  Schoolmaster  that  he  is  to  ring  a  little  later,  and 
put  a  knee-cushion  before  the  altar.  

0  !  if  the  Ritter  Michaelis  maintains  that  Paradise  was  little, 
because  otherwise  the  people  would  not  have  found  each  other, — 
a  hamlet  and  its  joys  are  little  and  narrow,'  so  that  some  shadow 
of  Eden  may  still  linger  on  our  Ball.  

1  have  not  even  hinted  that,  the  day  before  the  wedding,  the 
Regiments- Quartermaster  came  uncalled,  and  killed  the  pig,  and 
made  puddings  gratis,  such  as  were  never  eaten  at  any  Court. 

And  besides,  dear  Fixlein,  on  this  soft  rich  oil  of  joy  there  was 
also  floating  gratis  a  vernal  sun, — and  red  twilights, — and  flower- 
garlands, — and  a  bursting  half  world  of  buds  !  .  .  .  . 

How  didst  thou  behave  thee  in  these  hot  whirlpools  of  plea- 
sure ? — Thou  movedst  thy  Fishtail  (Reason),  and  therewith  de- 
scribedst  for  thyself  a  rectilineal  course  through  the  billows.  For 
even  half  as  much  would  have  hurried  another  Parson  from  his 
study ;  but  the  very  crowning  felicity  of  ours  was,  that  he  stood 
as  if  rooted  to  the  boundary-hill  of  Moderation,  and  from  thence 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


879 


looked  dcwn  on  what  thousands  flout  away.  Sitting  opposite  the 
Castle-windows,  he  was  still  in  a  condition  to  reckon  up  that  Amen 
occurs  in  the  Bible  one  hundred  and  thirty  times.  Nay,  to  his 
old  learned  laboratory  he  now  appended  a  new  chemical  stove : 
he  purposed  writing  to  Niirnberg  and  Bayreuth,  and  there  offering 
his  pen  to  the  Brothers  Senft,  not  only  for  composing  practical 
Receipts  at  the  end  of  their  Almanacs,  but  also  for  separate  Essays 
in  front  under  the  copperplate  title  of  each  Month,  because  he  had 
a  thought  of  making  some  reformatory  cuts  at  the  common  peo- 
ple's mental  habitudes  And  now,  when  in  the  capacity  of 

Parson  he  had  less  to  do,  and  could  add  to  the  holy  resting-day 
of  the  congregation  six  literary  creating-days,  he  determined  (even 
in  these  Carnival  weeks)  to  strike  his  plough  into  the  hitherto 
quite  fallow  History  of  Hukelum,  and  soon  to  follow  the  plough 

with  his  drill  

Thus  roll  his  minutes,  on  golden  wheels-of-fortune,  over  the 
twelve  days,  which  form  the  glancing  star-paved  road  to  the  third 
heaven  of  the  thirteenth,  that  is  to  the 


NINTH  LETTER-BOX, 

Or  to  the  Marriage. 

Rise,  fair  Ascension  and  Marriage  day,  and  gladden  readers 
also  !  Adorn  thyself  with  the  fairest  jewel,  with  the  bride,  whose 
soul  is  as  pure  and  glittering  as  its  vesture ;  like  pearl  and  pearl- 
muscle,  the  one  as  the  other,  lustrous  and  ornamental !  And 
so  over  the  espalier,  whose  fruit-hedge  has  hitherto  divided  our 
darling  from  his  Eden,  every  reader  now  presses  after  him  ! — 

On  the  9th  of  May  1793,  about  three  in  the  morning,  there 
came  a  sharp  peal  of  trumpets,  like  a  light-beam,  through  the 
dim-red  May-dawn :  two  twisted  horns,  with  a  straight  trumpet 
between  them,  like  a  note  of  admiration  between  interrogation- 
points,  were  clanging  from  a  house  in  which  only  a  parishioner 
(not  the  Parson)  dwelt  and  blew  :  for  this  parishioner  had  last 
night  been  celebrating  the  same  ceremony  which  the  pastor  had 
this  day  before  him.  The  joyful  tallyho  raised  our  Parson  from 
his  broad  bed  (and  the  Shock  from  beneath  it,  who  some  weeks 
ago  had  been  exiled  from  the  white  sleek  coverlid),  and  this  so 
early,  that  in  the  portraying  tester,  where  on  every  former  mora- 


380 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDMCH  RICHTEH. 


ing  he  had  observed  his  ruddy  visage  and  his  white  bedclothes, 
all  was  at  present  dim  and  crayonned. 

I  confess,  the  new-painted  room,  and  a  gleam  of  dawn  on  the 
wall,  made  it  so  light,  that  he  could  see  his  knee-buckles  glancing 
on  the  chair.  He  then  softly  awakened  his  mother  (the  other 
guests  were  to  lie  for  hours  in  the  sheets),  and  she  had  the  city 
cookmaid  to  awaken,  who,  like  several  other  articles  of  wedding- 
furniture,  had  been  borrowed  for  a  day  or  two  from  Flachsenfingen. 
At  two  doors  he  knocked  in  vain,  and  without  answer  ;  for  all  were 
already  down  at  the  hearth,  cooking,  blowing  and  arranging. 

How  softly  does  the  Spring  day  gradually  fold  back  its  nun- 
veil,  and  the  Earth  grow  bright,  as  if  it  were  the  morning  of  a 
Eesurrection  ! — The  quicksilver-pillar  of  the  barometer,  the  guid- 
ing Fire-pillar  of  the  weather-prophet,  rests  firmly  on  Fixlein's 
Ark  of  the  Covenant.  The  Sun  raises  himself,  pure  and  cool,  into 
the  morning-blue,  instead  of  into  the  morning-red.  Swallows,  in- 
stead of  clouds,  shoot  skimming  through  the  melodious  air  .  .  . 
0,  the  good  Genius  of  Fail'  Weather,  who  deserves  many  temples 
and  festivals  (because  without  him  no  festival  could  be  held), 
lifted  an  ethereal  azure  Day,  as  it  were,  from  the  well-clear  atmo- 
sphere of  the  Moon,  and  sent  it  down,  on  blue  butterfly-wings — 
as  if  it  were  a  blue  Monday — glittering  below  the  Sun,  in  the  zig- 
zag of  joyful  quivering  descent,  upon  the  narrow  spot  of  Earth, 

which  our  heated  fancies  are  now  viewing  And  on  this 

balmy  vernal  spot,  stand  amid  flowers,  over  which  the  trees  are 
shaking  blossoms  instead  of  leaves,  a  bride  and  a  bridegroom.  .  .  . 
Happy  Fixlein !  how  shall  I  paint  thee  without  deepening  the 
sighs  of  longing  in  the  fairest  souls  ? — 

But  soft !  we  will  not  drink  the  magic  cup  of  Fancy  to  the 
bottom  at  six  in  the  morning ;  but  keep  sober  till  towards  night ! 

At  the  sound  of  the  morning  prayer-bell,  the  bridegroom,  for 
the  din  of  preparation  was  disturbing  his  quiet  orison,  went  out 
into  the  churchyard,  which  (as  in  many  other  places),  together 
with  the  church,  lay  round  his  mansion  like  a  court.  Here  on 
the  moist  green,  over  whose  closed  flowers  the  churchyard-wall 
was  still  spreading  broad  shadows,  did  his  spirit  cool  itself  from 
the  warm  dreams  of  Earth :  here,  where  the  white  flat  grave-stone 
of  his  Teacher  lay  before  him  like  the  fallen-in  door  on  the  Janus'- 
temple  of  Life,  or  like  the  windward  side  of  the  narrow  house, 
turned  towards  the  tempests  of  the  world :  here,  where  the  little 
shrunk  metallic  door  on  the  grated  cross  of  his  father  uttered  to 


LIFE  OF  QU1NTUS  FIXLEIN. 


381 


him  the  inscriptions  of  death,  and  the  year  when  his  parent  de- 
parted, and  all  the  admonitions  and  mementos,  graven  on  the 
lead ; — there,  I  say,  his  mood  grew  softer  and  more  solemn  ;  and 
he  now  lifted  up  by  heart  his  morning  prayer,  which  usually  he 
read ;  and  entreated  God  to  bless  him  in  his  office,  and  to  spare 
his  mother's  life ;  and  to  look  with  favour  and  acceptance  on  the 
purpose  of  today. — Then  over  the  graves  he  walked  into  his 
fenceless  little  angular  flower-garden;  and  here,  composed  and 
confident  in  the  divine  keeping,  he  pressed  the  stalks  of  his  tulips 
deeper  into  the  mellow  earth. 

But  on  returning  to  the  house,  he  was  met  on  all  hands  by 
the  bell-ringing  and  the  janissary-music  of  wedding-gladness  ; — 
the  marriage-guests  had  all  thrown  off  their  nightcaps,  and  were 
drinking  diligently; — there  was  a  clattering,  a  cooking,  a  frizzling; 
— tea-services,  coffee-services  and  warm-beer-services,  were  ad- 
vancing in  succession ;  and  plates  full  of  bride-cakes  were  going 
round  like  potter's  frames  or  cistern-wheels. — The  Schoolmaster, 
with  three  young  lads,  was  heard  rehearsing  from  his  own  house 
an  Arioso,  with  which,  so  soon  as  they  were  perfect,  he  purposed 
to  surprise  his  clerical  superior. — But  now  rushed  all  the  arms 
of  the  foaming  joy- streams  into  one,  when  the  sky- queen  be- 
sprinkled with  blossoms,  the  bride,  descended  upon  Earth  in  her 
timid  joy,  full  of  quivering  humble  love  ; — when  the  bells  began  ; 
— when  the  procession-column  set  forth  with  the  whole  village 
round  and  before  it; — when  the  organ,  the  congregation,  the 
officiating  priest  and  the  sparrows  on  the  trees  of  the  church- 
window,  struck  louder  and  louder  their  rolling  peals  on  the  drum 
of  the  jubilee -festival.  .  .  .  The  heart  of  the  singing  bridegroom 
was  like  to  leap  from  its  place  for  joy,  "  that  on  his  bridal-day 
it  was  all  so  respectable  and  grand." — Not  till  the  marriage- 
benediction  could  he  pray  a  little. 

Still  worse  and  louder  grew  the  business  during  dinner,  when 
pastry-work  and  marchpane-devices  were  brought  forward, — when 
glasses  and  slain  fishes  (laid  under  the  napkins  to  frighten  the 
guests)  went  round ; — and  when  the  guests  rose,  and  themselves 
rent  round,  and  at  length  danced  round  :  for  they  had  instrumental 
music  from  the  city  there. 

One  minute  handed  over  to  the  other  the  sugar-bowl  and 
bottle-case  of  joy :  the  guests  heard  and  saw  less  and  less,  and 
the  villagers  began  to  see  and  hear  more  and  more,  and  towards 
night  they  penetrated  like  a  wedge  into  tho  open  door, — nay  two 


382 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


youths  ventured  even  in  the  middle  of  the  parsonage-court,  to 
mount  a  plauk  over  a  beam,  and  commence  seesawing. — Out  of 
doors,  the  gleaming  vapour  of  the  departed  Sun  was  encircling 
the  Earth,  the  evening-star  was  glittering  over  parsonage  and 
churchyard  ;  no  one  heeded  it. 

However,  about  nine  o'clock, — when  the  marriage-guests  had 
well-nigh  forgotten  the  marriage -pair,  and  were  chinking  or  danc- 
ing along  for  their  own  behoof;  when  poor  mortals,  in  this  sun- 
shine of  Fate,  like  fishes  in  the  sunshine  of  the  sky,  were  leaping 
up  from  their  wet  cold  element ;  and  when  the  bridegroom  under 
the  star  of  happiness  and  love,  casting  like  a  comet  its  long  train 
of  radiance  over  all  his  heaven,  had  in  secret  pressed  to  his  joy- 
filled  breast  his  bride  and  his  mother, — then  did  he  lock  a  slice  of 
wedding-bread  privily  into  a  press,  in  the  old  superstitious  belief 
that  this  residue  secured  continuance  of  bread  for  the  whole  mar- 
riage. As  he  returned,  with  greater  love  for  the  sole  partner  of 
his  life,  she  herself  met  him  with  his  mother,  to  deliver  him  in 
private  the  bridal-nightgown  and  bridal-shirt,  as  is  the  ancient 
usage.  Many  a  countenance  grows  pale  in  violent  emotions,  even 
of  joy:  Thiennette's  wax-face  was  bleaching  still  whiter  under  the 
sunbeams  of  Happiness.  0  never  fall,  thou  lily  of  Heaven,  and 
may  four  springs  instead  of  four  seasons  open  and  shut  thy  flower- 
bells  to  the  sun  ! — All  the  arms  of  his  soul,  as  he  floated  on  the 
sea  of  joy,  were  quivering  to  clasp  the  soft  warm  heart  of  his  be- 
loved, to  encircle  it  gently  and  fast,  and  draw  it  to  his  own  

He  led  her  from  the  crowded  dancing -room  into  the  cool 
evening.  Why  does  the  evening,  does  the  night  put  warmer 
love  in  our  hearts  ?  Is  it  the  nightly  pressure  of  helplessness ; 
or  is  it  the  exalting  separation  from  the  turmoil  of  life  ;  that 
veiling  of  the  world,  in  which  for  the  soul  nothing  more  remains 
but  souls ; — is  it  therefore,  that  the  letters  in  which  the  loved 
name  stands  written  on  our  spirit  appear,  like  phosphorus-writ- 
ing, by  night  in  fire,  while  by  day  in  their  cloudy  traces  they  but 
smoke  ? 

He  walked  with  his  bride  into  the  Castle -garden :  she  hast- 
ened quickly  through  the  Castle,  and  past  its  servants' -hall,  where 
the  fair  flowers  of  her  young  life  had  been  crushed  broad  and  dry, 
under  a  long  dreary  pressure  ;  and  her  soul  expanded  and  breathed 
in  the  free  open  garden,  on  whose  flowery  soil  destiny  had  cast 
forth  the  first  seeds  of  the  blossoms  which  today  were  gladdening 
her  existence.    Still  Eden  !  green  flower-chequered  chiaroscuro! 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEES . 


383 


— The  moon  is  sleeping  underground  like  a  dead  one ;  but  beyond 
the  garden  the  sun's  red  evening- clouds  have  fallen  down  like  rose- 
leaves  ;  and  the  evening-star,  the  brideman  of  the  sun,  hovers,  like 
a  glancing  butterfly,  above  the  rosy  red,  and,  modest  as  a  bride, 
deprives  no  single  starlet  of  its  light. 

The  wandering  pair  arrived  at  the  old  gardener's  hut ;  now 
standing  locked  and  dumb,  with  dark  windows  in  the  light  garden, 
like  a  fragment  of  the  Past  surviving  in  the  Present.  Bared  twigs 
of  trees  were  folding,  with  clammy  half  -  formed  leaves,  over  the 
thick  intertwisted  tangles  of  the  bushes. — The  Spring  was  stand- 
ing, like  a  conqueror,  with  Winter  at  his  feet.  —  In  the  blue 
pond,  now  bloodless,  a  dusky  evening-sky  lay  hollowed  out,  and 
the  gushing  waters  were  moistening  the  flower-beds. — The  silver 
sparks  of  stars  were  rising  on  the  altar  of  the  East,  and  falling 
down  extinguished  in  the  red  sea  of  the  West. 

The  wind  whirred,  like  a  night-bird,  louder  through  the  trees ; 
and  gave  tones  to  the  acacia-grove,  and  the  tones  called  to  the 
pair  who  had  first  become  happy  within  it :  "  Enter,  new  mortal 
pair,  and  think  of  what  is  past,  and  of  my  withering  and  your 
own ;  and  be  holy  as  Eternity,  and  weep  not  only  for  joy,  but  for 
gratitude  also  !" — And  the  wet-eyed  bridegroom  led  his  wet-eyed 
bride  under  the  blossoms,  and  laid  his  soul,  like  a  flower,  on  her 
heart,  and  said  :  "Best  Thiennette,  I  am  unspeakably  happy,  and 
would  say  much,  and  cannot. — Ah,  thou  Dearest,  we  will  live  like 
angels,  like  children  together  !  Surely  I  will  do  all  that  is  good  to 
thee ;  two  years  ago  I  had  nothing,  no  nothing ;  ah,  it  is  through 
thee,  best  Love,  that  I  am  happy.  I  call  thee  Thou,  now,  thou 
dear  good  soul!"  She  drew  him  closer  to  her,  and  said,  though 
without  kissing  him  :  "Call  me  Thou  always,  Dearest !" 

And  as  they  stept  forth  again  from  the  sacred  grove  into  the 
magic-dusky  garden,  he  took  off  his  hat ;  first,  that  he  might  in- 
ternally thank  God,  and  secondly,  because  he  wished  to  look  into 
this  fairest  evening  sky. 

They  reached  the  blazing,  rustling  marriage-house,  but  their 
softened  hearts  sought  stillness ;  and  a  foreign  touch,  as  in  the 
blossoming  vine,  would  have  disturbed  the  flower-nuptials  of  their 
souls.  They  turned  rather,  and  winded  up  into  the  churchyard  to 
preserve  their  mood.  Majestic  on  the  groves  and  mountains  stood 
the  Night  before  man's  heart,  and  made  it  also  great.  Over  the 
white  steeple- obelisk  the  sky  rested  bluer  and  darker,-  and  behind 
it  wavered  the  withered  summit  of  the  May-pole  with  faded  flag. 


384 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


The  son  noticed  his  father's  grave,  on  which  the  wind  was  open- 
ing and  shutting,  with  harsh  noise,  the  little  door  of  the  metal 
cross,  to  let  the  year  of  his  death  be  read  on  the  brass  plate 
within.  An  overpowering  sadness  seized  his  heart  with  violent 
streams  of  tears,  and  drove  him  to  the  sunk  hillock,  and  he  led 
his  bride  to  the  grave,  and  said:  "Here  sleeps  he,  my  good 
father ;  in  his  thirty- second  year,  he  was  carried  hither  to  his 
long  rest.  0  thou  good,  dear  father,  couldst  thou  today  but  see 
the  happiness  of  thy  son,  like  my  mother !  But  thy  eyes  are 
empty,  and  thy  breast  is  full  of  ashes,  and  thou  seest  us  not." — 
He  was  silent.  The  bride  wept  aloud ;  she  saw  the  mouldering 
coffins  of  her  parents  open,  and  the  two  dead  arise  and  look  round 
for  their  daughter,  who  had  stayed  so  long  behind  them,  forsaken 
on  the  Earth.  She  fell  upon  his  heart,  and  faltered:  "0  beloved, 
I  have  neither  father  nor  mother,  do  not  forsake  me  !" 

0  thou  who  hast  still  a  father  and  a  mother,  thank  God  for 
it,  on  the  day  when  thy  soul  is  full  of  joyful  tears,  and  needs  a 
bosom  wherein  to  shed  them  

And  with  this  embracing  at  a  father's  grave,  let  this  day  of 
ioy  be  holily  concluded. — 


TENTH  LETTEK-BOX. 

St.  Thomas's  Day  and  Birthday. 

An  Author  is  a  sort  of  bee-keeper  for  his  reader-swarm ;  in 
whose  behalf  he  separates  the  Flora  kept  for  their  use  into  differ- 
ent seasons,  and  here  accelerates,  and  there  retards,  the  blossom- 
ing of  many  a  flower,  that  so  in  all  chapters  there  be  blooming. 

The  goddess  of  Love  and  the  angel  of  Peace  conducted  our 
married  pair  on  tracks  running  over  full  meadows,  through  the 
Spring ;  and  on  footpaths  hidden  by  high  cornfields,  through  the 
Summer ;  and  Autumn,  as  they  advanced  towards  Winter,  spread 
her  marbled  leaves  under  their  feet.  And  thus  they  arrived  before 
the  low  dark  gate  of  Winter,  full  of  life,  full  of  love,  trustful,  con- 
tented, sound  and  ruddy. 

On  St.  Thomas's  day  was  Thiennette's  birthday  as  well  as 
Winter's.  About  a  quarter  past  nine,  just  when  the  singing 
ceases  in  the  church,  we  shall  take  a  peep  through  the  window 
into  the  interior  of  the  parsonage.  There  is  nothing  here  but  the 
%1d  mother,  who  has  all  day  (the  son  having  restricted  her  to  rest, 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FJXLEIN. 


385 


and  not  work)  been  gliding  about,  and  brushing,  and  burnishing, 
and  scouring,  and  wiping  :  every  carved  chair-leg,  and  every  brass 
nail  of  the  waxcloth-covered  table,  she  has  polished  into  bright- 
ness ; — everything  hangs,  as  with  all  married  people  who  have  no 
children,  in  its  right  place,  brushes,  fly-flaps  and  almanacs  ; — the 
chairs  are  stationed  by  the  room-police  in  their  ancient  corners ; 
—a  flax-rock,  encircled  with  a  diadem,  or  scarf  of  azure  ribbon, 
is  lying  in  the  Schadeckbed,  because,  though  it  is  a  half  holiday, 
some  spinning  may  go  on ; — the  narrow  slips  of  paper,  whereon 
heads  of  sermons  are  to  be  arranged,  lie  white  beside  the  sermons 
themselves,  that  is,  beside  the  octavo  paper  -  book  which  holds 
them,  for  the  Parson  and  his  work-table,  by  reason  of  the  cold, 
have  migrated  from  the  study  to  the  sitting-room ; — his  large 
furred  doublet  is  hanging  beside  his  clean  bridegroom  nightgown : 
there  is  nothing  wanting  in  the  room  but  He  and  She.  For  he 
had  preached  her  with  him  tonight  into  the  empty  Apostle's-day 
church,  that  so  her  mother,  without  witnesses — except  the  two 
or  three  thousand  readers  who  are  peeping  with  me  through  the 
window — might  arrange  the  provender-baking,  and  whole  com- 
missariat department  of  the  birthday-festival,  and  spread  out  her 
best  table-gear  and  victual-stores  without  obstruction. 

The  soul-curer  reckoned  it  no  sin  to  admonish,  and  exhort, 
and  encourage,  and  threaten  his  parishioners,  till  he  felt  pretty 
certain  that  the  soup  must  be  smoking  on  the  plates.  Then  he 
led  his  birthday  helpmate  home,  and  suddenly  placed  her  before 
the  altar  of  meat-offering,  before  a  sweet  title-page  of  bread-tart, 
on  which  her  name  stood  baked,  in  true  monastic  characters,  in 
tooth-letters  of  almonds.  In  the  background  of  time  and  of  the 
room,  I  yet  conceal  two — bottles  of  Pontac.  How  quickly,  under 
the  sunshine  of  joy,  do  thy  cheeks  grow  ripe,  Thiennette,  when 
thy  husband  solemnly  says  :  "  This  is  thy  birthday;  and  may  the 
Lord  bless  thee  and  watch  over  thee,  and  cause  his  countenance 
to  shine  on  thee,  and  send  thee,  to  the  joy  of  our  mother  and  thy 
husband  especially,  a  happy  glad  recovery.  Amen  !" — And  when 
Thiennette  perceived  that  it  was  the  old  mistress  who  had  cooked 
and  served  up  all  this  herself,  she  fell  upon  her  neck,  as  if  it  had 
been  not  her  husband's  mother,  but  her  own. 

Emotion  conquers  the  appetite.  But  Fixlein's  stomach  was 
as  strong  as  his  heart ;  and  with  him  no  species  of  movement 
could  subdue  the  peristaltic.  Drink  is  the  friction -oil  of  the 
tongue,  as  eating  is  its  drag.    Yet,  not  till  he  had  eaten  ana 

VOL.  III.  cc 


386 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDTtl'CH  RICHTER. 


spoken  much,  did  the  pastor  fill  the  glasses.  Then  indeed  he 
drew  the  cork-sluice  from  the  bottle,  and  set  forth  its  streams. 
The  sickly  mother,  of  a  being  still  hid  beneath  her  heart,  turned 
her  eyes,  in  embarrassed  emotion,  on  the  old  woman  only ;  and 
could  scarcely  chide  him  for  sending  to  the  city  wine-merchant 
on  her  account.  He  took  a  glass  in  each  hand,  for  each  of  the 
two  whom  he  loved,  and  handed  them  to  his  mother  and  his  wife, 
and  said  :  "  To  thy  long,  long  life,  Thiennette! — 'And  your  health 
and  happiness,  Mamma ! — And  a  glad  arrival  to  our  little  one,  if 
God  so  bless  us  !" — "  My  son,"  said  the  gardeneress,  "it  is  to 
thy  long  life  that  we  must  drink ;  for  it  is  by  thee  we  are  sup- 
ported. God  grant  thee  length  of  days  !"  added  she,  with  stifled 
voice,  and  her  eyes  betrayed  her  tears. 

I  nowhere  find  a  livelier  emblem  of  the  female  sex  in  all  its 
boundless  levity,  than  in  the  case  where  a  woman  is  carrying  the 
angel  of  Death  beneath  her  heart,  and  yet  in  these  nine  months 
full  of  mortal  tokens  thinks  of  nothing  more  important,  than  of 
who  shall  be  the  gossips,  and  what  shall  be  cooked  at  the  chris- 
tening. But  thou,  Thiennette,  hadst  nobler  thoughts,  though 
these  too  along  with  them.  The  still-hidden  darling  of  thy  heart 
was  resting  before  thy  eyes  like  a  little  angel  sculptured  on  a 
grave- stone,  and  pointing  with  its  small  finger  to  the  hour  when 
thou  shouldst  die ;  and  every  morning  and  every  evening,  thou 
thoughtest  of  death,  with  a  certainty,  of  which  I  yet  knew  not 
the  reasons ;  and  to  thee  it  was  as  if  the  Earth  were  a  dark 
mineral  cave  where  man's  blood  like  stalactitic  water  drops  down, 
and  in  dropping  raises  shapes  which  gleam  so  transiently,  and  so 
quickly  fade  away !  And  that  was  the  cause  why  tears  were  con- 
tinually trickling  from  thy  soft  eyes,  and  betraying  all  thy  anxious 
thoughts  about  thy  child :  but  thou  repaidst  these  sad  effusions 
of  thy  heart  by  the  embrace  in  which,  with  new-awakened  love, 
thou  fellest  on  thy  husband's  neck,  and  saidst  :  ' *  Be  as  it  may, 
God's  will  be  done,  so  thou  and  my  child  are  left  alive  ! — But  I 
know  well  that  thou,  Dearest,  lovest  me  as  I  do  thee."  .  .  .  , 
Lay  thy  hand,  good  mother,  full  of  blessings,  on  the  two  ;  and 
thou  kind  Fate,  never  lift  thine  away  from  them  ! — 

It  is  with  emotion  and  good  wishes  that  I  witness  the  kiss  of 
two  fair  friends,  or  the  embracing  of  two  virtuous  lovers ;  and 
from  the  fire  of  their  altar  sparks  fly  over  to  me  :  but  what  is  this 
to  our  sympathetic  exaltation,  when  we  dee  two  mortals,  bending 
under  the  same  burden,  bound  to  the  same  duties,  animated  by 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


387 


the  same  care  for  the  same  little  darlings — fall  on  one  another's 
overflowing  hearts,  in  some  fair  hour  ?  And  if  these,  moreover, 
are  two  mortals  who  already  wear  the  mourning-weeds  of  life,  I 
mean  old  age,  whose  hair  and  cheeks  are  now  grown  colourless, 
and  eyes  grown  dim,  and  whose  faces  a  thousand  thorns  have 
marred  into  images  of  Sorrow  ; — when  these  two  clasp  each  other 
with  such  wearied  aged  arms,  and  so  near  to  the  precipice  of  the 
grave,  and  when  they  say  or  think :  "  All  in  us  is  dead,  but  not 
our  love — 0,  we  have  lived  and  suffered  long  together,  and  now 
we  will  hold  out  our  hands  to  Death  together  also,  and  let  him 
carry  us  away  together," — does  not  all  within  us  cry:  0  Love, 
thy  spark  is  superior  to  Time ;  it  burns  neither  in  joy  nor  in  the 
cheek  of  roses ;  it  dies  not,  neither  under  a  thousand  tears,  nor 
under  the  snow  of  old  age,  nor  under  the  ashes  of  thy — beloved  ? 
It  never  dies  :  and  Thou,  All-good  !  if  there  were  no  eternal  love, 

there  were  no  love  at  all  

To  the  Parson  it  was  easier  than  it  is  to  me  to  pave  for  him- 
self a  transition  from  the  heart  to  the  digestive  faculty.  He  now 
submitted  to  Thiennette  (whose  voice  at  once  grew  cheerful,  while 
her  eyes  time  after  time  began  to  sparkle)  his  purpose  to  take 
advantage  of  the  frosty  weather,  and  have  the  winter  meat  slaugh- 
tered and  salted  :  "  the  pig  can  scarcely  rise,"  said  he  ;  and 
forthwith  he  fixed  the  determination  of  the  women,  farther  the 
butcher,  and  the  day,  and  all  et  ceteras  ;  appointing  everything 
with  a  degree  of  punctuality,  such  as  the  war-college  (when  it 
applies  the  cupping-glass,  the  battle-sword,  to  the  overfull  system 
of  mankind)  exhibits  on  the  previous  day,  in  its  arrangements, 
before  it  drives  a  province  into  the  baiting -ring  and  slaughter- 
house. 

This  settled,  he  began  to  talk  and  feel  quite  joyously  about 
the  course  of  winter,  which  had  commenced  today  at  two  -  and- 
twenty  minutes  past  eight  in  the  morning  :  "  for,"  said  he,  "  new- 
year  is  close  at  hand ;  and  we  shall  not  need  so  much  candle 
tomorrow  night  as  tonight."  His  mother,  it  is  true,  came  athwart 
him  with  the  weapons  of  her  five  senses  :  but  he  fronted  her  with 
his  Astronomical  Tables,  and  proved  that  the  lengthening  of  the 
day  was  no  less  undeniable  than  imperceptible.  In  the  last  place, 
like  most  official  and  married  persons,  heeding  little  whether  his 
women  took  him  or  not,  he  informed  them  in  juristico-theological 
phrase  :  "  That  he  would  put  off  no  longer,  but  write  this  very 
afternoon  to  the  venerable  Consistorium,  in  whose  hands  lay  the 


388 


JEAN  PAUL  FEIEEEICH  EICHTEE. 


jus  circa  sacra,  for  a  new  Ball  to  the  church-steeple  ;  and  the 
rather,  as  he  hoped  before  newyear's  day  to  raise  a  bountiful  sub- 
scription from  the  parish  for  this  purpose. — If  God  spare  us  till 
Spring,"  added  he  with  peculiar  cheerfulness^  "  and  thou  wert 
happily  recovered,  I  might  so  arrange  the  whole  that  the  Ball 
should  be  set  up  at  thy  first  church-going,  dame  !" 

Thereupon  he  shifted  his  chair  from  the  dinner  and  dessert 
table  to  the  work-table  ;  and  spent  the  half  of  his  afternoon  oyer 
the  petition  for  the  steeple-ball.  As  there  still  remained  a  little 
space  till  dusk,  he  clapped  his  tackle  to  his  new  learned  Opus,  of 
which  I  must  now  afford  a  little  glimpse.  Out  of  doors  among 
the  snow,  there  stood  near  Hukelum  an  old  Bobber-Castle,  which 
Fixlein.  every  day  in  Autumn,  had  hovered  round  like  a  revenant, 
with  a  view  to  gauge  it,  ichnographically  to  delineate  it,  to  put 
every  window-bar  and  every  bridle-hook  of  it  correctly  on  paper. 
He  believed  he  was  not  expecting  too  much,  if  thereby — and  by 
some  dra wings  of  the  not  so  much  vertical  as  horizontal  walls — 
he  hoped  to  impart  to  his  ''Architectural  Correspondence  of  two 
Friends  concerning  the  Hukelum  Roller -Castle"  that  last  polish 
and  labor  lime?  which  contents  Beviewers.  For  towards  the  cri- 
tical Starchamber  of  the  Beviewers  he  entertained  not  that  con- 
tempt which  some  authors  actually  feel  —  or  only  affect,  as  for 
instance,  I.  From  this  mouldered  Bobber  -Louvre,  there  grew 
for  him  more  flowers  of  joy,  than  ever  in  all  probability  had  grown 
from  it  of  old  for  its  owners. — To  my  knowledge,  it  is  an  anecdote 
not  hitherto  made  public,  that  for  all  this  no  man  but  Busching 
has  to  answer.  Fixlein  had  not  long  ago,  among  the  rubbish  of 
the  church  letter-room,  stumbled  on  a  paper  wherein  the  Geogra- 
pher had  been  requesting  special  information  about  the  statistics 
of  the  village.  Biisching,  it  is  true,  had  picked  up  nothing — ac- 
cordingly, indeed,  Hukelum,  in  his  Geography ,  is  still  omitted 
altogether  ; — but  this  pestilential  letter  had  infected  Fixlein  with 
the  spring-fever  of  Ambition,  so  that  his  palpitating  heart  was  no 
longer  to  be  stilled  or  held  in  check,  except  by  the  assafcetida- 
emulsion  of  a  review.  It  is  with  authorcraft  as  with  love  :  both 
of  them  for  decades  long  one  may  equally  desire  and  forbear  :  but 
is  the  first  spark  once  thrown  into  the  powder-magazine,  it  burns 
to  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

Simply  because  winter  had  commenced  by  the  Almanac,  the 
fire  must  be  larger  than  usual ;  for  warm  rooms,  like  large  furs 
and  bearskin -caps,  were  things  which  he  loved  more  than  you 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


389 


would  figure.  The  dusk,  this  fair  chiaroscuro  of  the  day,  this 
coloured  foreground  of  the  night,  he  lengthened  out  as  far  as 
possible,  that  he  might  study  Christmas  discourses  therein :  and 
yet  could  his  wife,  without  scruple,  just  as  he  was  pacing  up  and 
down  the  room,  with  the  sowing-sheet  full  of  divine  word-seeds 
hung  round  his  shoulder, — hold  up  to  him  a  spoonful  of  alegar, 
that  he  might  try  the  same  in  his  palate,  and  decide  whether  she 
should  yet  draw  it  off.  Nay,  did  he  not  in  all  cases,  though 
fonder  of  roe-fishes  himself,  order  a  milter  to  be  drawn  from  the 
herring-barrel,  because  his  good-wife  liked  it  better  ? — 

Here  light  was  brought  in  ;  and  as  Winter  was  just  now  com- 
mencing his  glass-painting  on  the  windows,  his  ice  flower-pieces, 
and  his  snow-foliage,  our  Parson  felt  that  it  was  time  to  read 
something  cold,  which  he  pleasantly  named  his  cold  collation ; 
namely,  the  description  of  some  unutterably  frosty  land.  On  the 
present  occasion,  it  was  the  winter  history  of  the  four  Russian 
sailors  on  Nova  Zembla.  I,  for  my  share,  do  often  in  summer, 
when  the  sultry  zephyr  is  inflating  the  flower-bells,  append  cer- 
tain charts  and  sketches  of  Italy,  or  the  East,  as  additional  land- 
scapes to  those  among  which  I  am  sitting.  And  yet  tonight  he 
farther  took  up  the  Weekly  Chronicle  of  Flachsenfingen ;  and 
amid  the  bombshells,  pestilences,  famines,  comets  with  long  tails, 
and  the  roaring  of  all  the  Hell-floods  of  another  Thirty-Years 
War,  he  could  still  listen  with  the  one  ear  towards  the  kitchen, 
where  the  salad  for  his  roast-duck  was  just  a-cutting. 

Good -night,  old  Fixlein  !  I  am  tired.  May  kind  Heaven 
send  thee  with  the  young  year  1794,  when  the  Earth  shall  again 
carry  her  people,  like  precious  night-moths,  on  leaves  and  flowers, 
the  new  steeple-ball,  and  a  thick  handsome — boy  to  boot ! 


ELEVENTH  LETTER-BOX. 

Spring ;  Investiture;  and  Childbirth. 

I  have  just  risen  from  a  singular  dream  ;  but  the  foregoing 
Box  makes  it  natural.  I  dreamed  that  all  was  verdant,  ail  full 
of  odours  ;  and  I  was  looking  up  at  a  steeple-ball  glittering  in  the 
sun,  from  my  station  in  the  window  of  a  little  white  garden-house, 
my  eyelids  full  of  flower-pollen,  my  shoulders  full  of  thin  cherry- 
blossoms,  and  my  ears  full  of  humming  from  the  neighbouring 


390 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


bee-hives.  Then,  methought,  advancing  slowly  through  the  beds, 
came  the  Hukelum  Parson,  and  stept  into  the  garden-house,  and 
solemnly  said  to  me  :  "  Honoured  Sir,  my  wife  has  just  brought 
me  a  little  boy ;  and  I  make  bold  to  solicit  your  Honour  to  do  the 
holy  office  for  the  same,  when  it  shall  be  received  into  the  bosom 
of  the  church." 

I  naturally  started  up,  and  there  was — Parson  Fixlein  stand- 
ing bodily  at  my  bedside,  and  requesting  me  to  be  godfather  :  for 
Thiennette  had  given  him  a  son  last  night  about  one  o'clock.  The 
confinement  had  been  as  light  and  happy  as  could  be  conceived ; 
for  this  reason,  that  the  father  had,  some  months  before,  been 
careful  to  provide  one  of  those  Klappersteins ,  as  we  call  them, 
which  are  found  in  the  aerie  of  the  eagle,  and  therewith  to  alle- 
viate the  travail :  for  this  stone  performs,  in  its  way,  all  the  ser- 
vice which  the  bonnet  of  that  old  Minorite  monk  in  Naples,  of 
whom  Gorani  informs  us,  could  accomplish  for  people  in  such  cir- 
cumstances, who  put  it  on  

— I  might  vex  the  reader  still  longer ;  but  I  willingly  give 
up,  and  show  him  how  the  matter  stood. 

Such  a  May  as  the  present  (of  1794),  Nature  has  not,  in  the 
memory  of  man — begun  :  for  this  is  but  the  fifteenth  of  it.  People 
of  reflection  have  for  centuries  been  vexed  once  every  year,  that 
our  German  singers  should  indite  May-songs,  since  several  other 
months  deserve  such  a  poetical  night-music  much  better ;  and  I 
myself  have  often  gone  so  far  as  to  adopt  the  idiom  of  our  market- 
women,  and  instead  of  May  butter,  to  say  June  butter,  as  also 
June,  March,  April  songs. — But  thou,  kind  May  of  this  year, 
thou  deservest  to  thyself  all  the  songs  which  were  ever  made  on 
thy  rude  namesakes  !  By  Heaven  !  when  I  now  issue  from  the 
wavering  chequered  acacia-grove  of  the  Castle-garden,  in  which  I 
am  writing  this  Chapter,  and  come  forth  into  the  broad  living  day, 
and  look  up  to  the  warming  Heaven,  and  over  its  Earth  budding 
out  beneath  it, — the  Spring  rises  before  me  like  a  vast  full  cloud, 
with  a  splendour  of  blue  and  green.  I  see  the  Sun  standing  amid 
roses  in  the  western  sky,  into  which  he  has  thrown  his  ray-brush, 
wherewith  he  has  today  been  painting  the  Earth ; — and  when  I 
look  round  a  little  in  our  picture-exhibition,  his  enamelling  is  still 
hot  on  the  mountains  ;  on  the  moist  chalk  of  the  moist  Earth,  the 
flowers  full  of  sap-colours  are  laid  out  to  dry,  and  the  forget-me- 
not  with  miniature  colours  ;  under  the  varnish  of  the  streams,  the 
skyey  Painter  has  pencilled  his  own  eye ;  and  the  clouds,  like  a 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


391 


decoration -painter,  he  has  touched  off  with  wild  outlines  and  single 
tints ;  and  so  he  stands  at  the  border  of  the  Earth,  and  looks  back 
upon  his  stately  Spring,  whose  robe-folds  are  valleys,  whose  breast- 
bouquet  is  gardens,  and  whose  blush  is  a  vernal  evening,  and  who, 
when  she  arises,  shall  be — Summer. 

But  to  proceed  !  Every  spring — and  especially  in  such  a 
spring — I  imitate  on  foot  our  birds  of  passage  ;  and  travel  off  the 
hypochondriacal  sediment  of  winter :  but  I  do  not  think  I  should 
have  seen  even  the  steeole-ball  of  Hukelum,  which  is  to  be  set  up 
one  of  these  days,  to  say  nothing  of  the  Parson's  family,  had  not 
I  happened  to  be  visiting  the  Flachsenfingen  Superintendent  and 
Consistorialrath.  From  him  I  got  acquainted  with  Fixlein's  his- 
tory (every  Candidatus  must  deliver  an  account  of  his  life  to  the 
Consistorium),  and  with  his  still  madder  petition  for  a  steeple- 
ball.  I  observed,  with  pleasure,  how  gaily  the  cob  was  diving 
and  swashing  about  in  his  duck-pool  and  milk-bath  of  life  ;  and 
forthwith  determined  on  a  journey  to  his  shore.  It  is  singular, 
that  is  to  say,  manlike,  that  when  we  have  for  years  kept  prizing 
and  describing  some  original  person  or  original  book,  yet  the 
moment  we  see  such,  they  anger  us  :  we  would  have  them  fit  us 
and  delight  us  in  all  points,  as  if  any  originality  could  do  this 
but  our  own. 

It  was  Saturday  the  third  of  May,  when  I,  with  the  Superin- 
tendent, the  Senior  Capituli,  and  some  temporal  Kaths,  mounted 
and  rolled  off,  and  in  two  carriages  were  driven  to  the  Parson's 
door.  The  matter  was,  he  was  not  yet — invested,  and  tomorrow 
this  was  to  be  done.  I  little  thought,  while  we  whirled  by  the 
white  espalier  of  the  Castle-garden,  that  there  I  was  to  write 
another  book. 

I  still  see  the  Parson,  in  his  peruke-minever  and  head-case, 
come  springing  to  the  coach-door  and  lead  us  out ;  so  smiling — 
so  courteous — so  vain  of  the  disloaded  freight,  and  so  attentive 
to  it.  He  looked  as  if  in  the  journey  of  life  he  had  never  once 
put  on  the  travelling -gauze  of  Sorrow  :  Thiennette  again  seemed 
never  to  have  thrown  hers  back.  How  neat  was  everything  in 
the  house,  how  dainty,  decorated  and  polished  !  And  yet  so  quiet, 
without  the  cursed  alarm-ringing  of  servants'  bells,  and  without 
the  bass-drum  tumult  of  stair-pedaling.  Whilst  the  gentlemen, 
my  road-companions,  were  sitting  in  state  in  the  upper  room,  I 
flitted,  as  my  way  is,  like  a  smell,  over  the  whole  house,  and  my 
path  led  me  through  the  sitting-room  over  the  Jdtchen,  and  at 


392 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


last  into  the  churchyard  beside  the  house.  Good  Saturday !  I 
will  paint  thy  hours  as  I  may,  with  the  black  asphaltos  of  ink, 
on  the  tablets  of  other  souls  !  In  the  sitting-room,  I  lifted  from 
the  desk  a  volume  gilt  on  the  back  and  edges,  and  bearing  this 
title  :  "  Holy  Sayings,  by  Fixlein.  First  Collection."  And  as 
I  looked  to  see  where  it  had  been  printed,  the  Holy  Collection 
turned  out  to  be  in  writing.  I  handled  the  quills,  and  dipped 
into  the  negro -black  of  the  ink,  and  I  found  that  all  was  right 
and  good  :  with  your  fluttering  gentlemen  of  letters,  who  hold 
only  a  department  of  the  foreign,  and  none  of  the  home  affairs, 
nothing  (except  some  other  things  about  them)  can  be  worse  than 
their  ink  and  pens.  I  also  found  a  little  copperplate,  to  which  I 
shall  in  due  time  return. 

In  the  kitchen,  a  place  not  more  essential  for  the  writing  of 
an  English  novel,  than  for  the  acting  of  a  German  one,  I  could 
plant  myself  beside  Thiennette,  and  help  her  to  blow  the  fire,  and 
look  at  once  into  her  face  and  her  burning  coals.  Though  she 
was  in  wedlock,  a  state  in  which  white  roses  on  the  cheeks  are 
changed  for  red  ones,  and  young  women  are  similar  to  a  simili- 
tude given  in  my  Note  ;28 — and  although  the  blazing  wood  threw 
a  false  rouge  over  her,  I  guessed  how  pale  she  must  have  been  ; 
and  my  sympathy  in  her  paleness  rose  still  higher  at  the  thought 
of  the  burden  which  Fate  had  now  not  so  much  taken  from  her, 
as  laid  in  her  arms  and  nearer  to  her  heart.  In  truth,  a  man 
must  never  have  reflected  on  the  Creation-moment,  when  the 
Universe  first  rose  from  the  bosom  of  an  Eternity,  if  he  does  not 
view  with  philosophic  reverence  a  woman,  whose  thread  of  life  a 
secret  all-wondrous  Hand  is  spinning  to  a  second  thread,  and  who 
veils  within  her  the  transition  from  Nothingness  to  Existence, 
from  Eternity  to  Time; — but  still  less  can  a  man  have  any  heart 
of  flesh,  if  his  soul,  in  presence  of  a  woman,  who,  to  an  unknown 
unseen  being,  is  sacrificing  more  than  we  will  sacrifice  when  it 
is  seen  and  known,  namely,  her  nights,  her  joys,  often  her  life, 
does  not  bow  lower,  and  with  deeper  emotion,  than  in  presence 
of  a  whole  nun-orchestra  on  their  Sahara-desert;  —  and  worse 
than  either  is  the  man  for  whom  his  own  mother  has  not  made 
all  other  mothers  venerable. 

"  It  is  little  serviceable  to  thee,  poor  Thiennette,"  thought  I, 
"  that  now,  when  thy  bitter  cup  of  sickness  is  made  to  run  over, 

28  To  the  Spring,  namely,  which  begins  with  snowdrops,  and  ends  with  rose3 
and  pinks. — 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


393 


thou  must  have  loud  festivities  come  crowding  round  thee."  I 
meant  the  Investiture  and  the  Ball-raising.  My  rank,  the  diploma 
of  which  the  reader  will  find  stitched  in  with  the  Dog-post-clays, 
and  which  had  formerly  been  hers,  brought  about  my  ears  a  host 
of  repelling,  embarrassed,  wavering  titles  of  address  from  her ; 
which  people,  to  whom  they  have  once  belonged,  are  at  all  times 
apt  to  parade  before  superiors  or  inferiors,  and  which  it  now  cost 
me  no  little  trouble  to  disperse.  Through  the  whole  Saturday 
and  Sunday,  I  could  never  get  into  the  right  track  either  with 
her  or  him,  till  the  other  guests  were  gone.  As  for  the  mother, 
she  acted,  like  obscure  ideas,  powerfully  and  constantly,  but  out 
of  view :  this  arose  in  part  from  her  idolatrous  fear  of  us ;  and 
partly  also  from  a  slight  shade  of  care  (probably  springing  from 
the  state  of  her  daughter),  which  had  spread  over  her  like  a  little 
cloud 

I  cruised  about,  so  long  as  the  moon-crescent  glimmered  in 
the  sky,  over  the  churchyard ;  and  softened  my  fantasies,  which 
are  at  any  rate  too  prone  to  paint  with  the  brown  of  crumbling 
mummies,  not  only  by  the  red  of  twilight,  but  also  by  reflecting 
how  easily  our  eyes  and  our  hearts  can  become  reconciled  even 
to  the  ruins  of  Death  ;  a  reflection  which  the  Schoolmaster,  whist- 
ling as  he  arranged  the  charnel-house  for  the  morrow,  and  the 
Parson's  maid  singing,  as  she  reaped  away  the  grass  from  the 
graves,  readily  enough  suggested  to  me.  And  why  should  not 
this  habituation  to  all  forms  of  Fate  in  the  other  world,  also,  be 
a  gift  reserved  for  us  in  our  nature  by  the  bounty  of  our  great 
Preserver  ? — I  perused  the  grave-stones  ;  and  I  think  even  now 
that  Superstition29  is  right  in  connecting  with  the  reading  of  such 
things  a  loss  of  memory ;  at  all  events,  one  does  forget  a  thou- 
sand things  belonging  to  this  world  

The  Investiture  on  Sunday  (whose  Gospel,  of  the  good  shep- 
herd, suited  well  with  the  ceremony)  I  must  dispatch  in  few 
words ;  because  nothing  truly  sublime  can  bear  to  be  treated  of 
in  many.  However,  I  shall  impart  the  most  memorable  circum- 
stances, when  I  say  that  there  was — drinking  (in  the  Parsonage), 
— music-making  (in  the  Choir), — reading  (of  the  Presentation  by 
the  Senior,  and  of  the  Ratification-rescript  by  the  lay  Rath), — 
and  preaching,  by  the  Consistorialrath,  who  took  the  soul-curer 
by  the  hand,  and  presented,  made  over  and  guaranteed  him  to 

29  This  Christian  superstition  is  not  only  a  Rabbinical,  but  also  a  Roman  one. 
Cicero  de  Senectute. 


394  JEAN  PAUL  FBIEDR1CH  EICHTER. 

the  congregation,  and  them  to  him.  Fixlein  felt  that  he  was 
departing  as  a  high-priest  from  the  church,  which  he  had  entered 
as  a  country  parson ;  and  all  day  he  had  not  once  the  heart  to 
ban.  When  a  man  is  treated  with  solemnity,  he  looks  upon 
himself  as  a  higher  nature,  and  goes  through  his  solemn  feasts 
devoutly. 

This  indenturing,  this  monastic  profession,  our  Head-Rabbis 
and  Lodge -masters  (our  Superintendents)  have  usually  a  taste  for 
putting  off  till  once  the  pastor  has  been  some  years  ministering 
among  the  people,  to  whom  they  hereby  present  him;  as  the 
early  Christians  frequently  postponed  their  consecration  and  in- 
vestiture to  Christianity,  their  baptism  namely,  till  the  day  when 
they  died  :  nay,  I  do  not  even  think  this  clerical  Investiture 
would  lose  much  of  its  usefulness,  if  it  and  the  declaring-vacant 
of  the  office  were  reserved  for  the  same  day ;  the  rather  as  this 
usefulness  consists  entirely  in  two  items  ;  what  the  Superintendent 
and  his  Raths  can  eat,  and  what  they  can  pocket. 

Not  till  towards  evening  did  the  Parson  and  I  get  acquainted. 
The  Investiture  officials,  and  elevation  pulley-men,  had,  through- 
out the  whole  evening,  been  very  violently — breathing.  I  mean 
thus  :  as  these  gentlemen  could  not  but  be  aware,  by  the  most 
ancient  theories  and  the  latest  experiments,  that  air  was  nothing 
else  than  a  sort  of  rarefied  and  exploded  water,  it  became  easy 
for  them  to  infer  that,  conversely,  water  was  nothing  else  than  a 
denser  sort  of  air.  Wine -drinking,  therefore,  is  nothing  else  but 
the  breathing  of  an  air  pressed  together  into  proper  spissitude, 
and  sprinkled  over  with  a  few  perfumes.  Now,  in  our  days,  by 
clerical  persons  too  much  (fluid)  breath  can  never  be  inhaled 
through  the  mouth ;  seeing  the  dignity  of  their  station  excludes 
them  from  that  breathing  through  the  smaller  pores,  which  Aber- 
nethy  so  highly  recommends  under  the  name  of  air-bath :  and 
can  the  Gullet  in  their  case  be  aught  else  than  door-neighbour  to 
the  Windpipe,  the  consonant  and  fellow-shoot  of  the  Windpipe  ? 
— I  am  running  astray :  I  meant  to  signify,  that  I  this  evening 
had  adopted  the  same  opinion  ;  only  that  I  used  this  ah*  or  ether, 
not  like  the  rest  for  loud  laughter,  but  for  the  more  quiet  con- 
templation of  life  in  general.  I  even  shot  forth  at  my  gossip  cer- 
tain speeches,  which  betrayed  devoutness  :  these  he  at  first  took 
for  jests,  being  aware  that  I  was  from  Court,  and  of  quality.  But 
the  concave  mirror  of  the  wine -mist  at  length  suspended  the 
images  of  my  soul,  enlarged  and  embodied  like  spiritual  shapes, 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN.  895 

in  the  air  before  me. — Life  shaded  itself  off  to  my  eyes  like  a 
hasty  summer  night,  which  we  little  fire-flies  shoot  across  with 
transient  gleam ; — I  said  to  him  that  man  must  turn  himself  like 
the  leaves  of  the  great  mallow,  at  the  different  day-seasons  of  his 
life,  now  to  the  rising  sun,  now  to  the  setting,  now  to  the  night, 
towards  the  Earth  and  its  graves ; — I  said,  the  omnipotence  of 
Goodness  was  driving  us  and  the  centuries  of  the  world  towards 
the  gates  of  the  City  of  God,  as,  according  to  Euler,  the  resist- 
ance of  the  Ether  leads  the  circling  Earth  towards  the  Sun, 
&c.  &c. 

On  the  strength  of  these  entremets,  he  considered  me  the 
first  theologian  of  his  age  ;  and  had  he  been  obliged  to  go  to  war, 
would  previously  have  taken  my  advice  on  the  matter,  as  belli- 
gerent powers  were  wont  of  old  from  the  theologians  of  the  Re- 
formation. I  hide  not  from  myself,  however,  that  what  preachers 
call  vanity  of  the  world,  is  something  altogether  different  from 
what  philosophy  so  calls.  When  I,  moreover,  signified  to  him 
that  I  was  not  ashamed  to  be  an  Author ;  but  had  a  turn  for 
working  up  this  and  the  other  biography ;  and  that  I  had  got  a 
sight  of  his  Life  in  the  hands  of  the  Superintendent ;  and  might 
be  in  case  to  prepare  a  printed  one  therefrom,  if  so  were  he  would 
assist  me  with  here  and  there  a  tint  of  flesh-colour, — then  was 
my  silk,  which,  alas  !  not  only  isolates  one  from  electric  fire,  but 
also  from  a  kindlier  sort  of  it,  the  only  grate  which  rose  between 
his  arms  and  me ;  for,  like  the  most  part  of  poor  country  par- 
sons, it  was  not  in  his  power  to  forget  the  rank  of  any  man,  or 
to  vivify  his  own  on  a  higher  one.  He  said:  "He  would  ac- 
knowledge it  with  veneration,  if  I  should  mention  him  in  print ; 
but  he  was  much  afraid  his  life  was  too  common  and  too  poor  for 
a  biography."  Nevertheless,  he  opened  me  the  drawer  of  his 
Letter-boxes ;  and  said,  perhaps,  he  had  hereby  been  paving  the 
way  for  me. 

The  main  point,  however,  was,  he  hoped  that  his  Errata,  his 
Exercitationes,  and  his  Letters  on  the  Robber-Castle,  if  I  should 
previously  send  forth  a  Life  of  the  Author,  might  be  better  re- 
ceived ;  and  that  it  would  be  much  the  same  as  if  I  accompanied 
them  with  a  Preface. 

In  short,  when  on  Monday  the  other  dignitaries  with  their 
nimbus  of  splendour  had  dissipated,  I  alone,  like  a  precipitate, 
abode  with  him ;  and  am  still  abiding,  that  is,  from  the  fifth  of 
May  (the  Public  should  take  the  Almanac  of  1794,  and  keep  it 


896 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


open  beside  them)  to  the  fifteenth  :  today  is  Thursday,  tomorrow 
is  the  sixteenth  and  Friday,  when  comes  the  Spinat-Kirmes,  or 
Spinage-Wake,  as  they  call  it,  and  the  uplifting  of  the  steeple- 
ball,  which  I  just  purposed  to  await  before  I  went.  Now,  how- 
ever, I  do  not  go  so  soon ;  for  on  Sunday  I  have  to  assist  at  the 
baptismal  ceremony,  as  baptismal  agent  for  my  little  future  god- 
son. Whoever  pays  attention  to  me,  and  keeps  the  Almanac 
open,  may  readily  guess  why  the  christening  is  put  off  till  Sunday : 
for  it  is  that  memorable  Cantata- Sunday,  which  once,  for  its  mad 
narcotic  hemlock-virtues,  was  of  importance  in  our  History ;  but 
is  now  so  only  for  the  fair  betrothment,  which  after  two  years  we 
mean  to  celebrate  with  a  baptism. 

Truly  it  is  not  in  my  power — for  want  of  colours  and  presses 
— to  paint  or  print  upon  my  paper  the  soft  balmy  flower-garland 
of  a  fortnight  which  has  here  wound  itself  about  my  sickly  life ; 
but  with  a  single  day  I  shall  attempt  it.  Man,  I  know  well,  can- 
not prognosticate  either  his  joys  or  his  sorrows,  still  less  repeat 
them,  either  in  living  or  writing. 

The  black  hour  of  coffee  has  gold  in  its  mouth  for  us  and 
honey ;  here,  in  the  morning  coolness,  we  are  all  gathered ;  we 
maintain  popular  conversation,  that  so  the  parsoness  and  the  gar- 
deneress  may  be  able  to  take  share  in  it.  The  morning- service 
in  the  church,  where  often  the  whole  people30  are  sitting  and  sing- 
ing, divides  us.  While  the  bell  is  sounding,  I  march  with  my 
writing-gear  into  the  singing  Castle-garden ;  and  seat  myself  in 
the  fresh  acacia-grove,  at  the  dewy  two-legged  table.  Fixlehrs 
Letter-boxes  I  keep  by  me  in  my  pocket ;  and  I  have  only  to  look 
and  abstract  from  his  what  can  be  of  use  in  my  own. — Strange 
enough  !  so  easily  do  we  forget  a  thing  in  describing  it,  I  reallj 
did  not  recollect  for  a  moment  that  I  am  now  sitting  at  the  very 
grove-table,  of  which  I  speak,  and  writing  all  this. — 

My  gossip  in  the  mean  time  is  also  labouring  for  the  world. 
His  study  is  a  sort  of  sacristy,  and  his  printing-press  a  pulpit, 
wherefrom  he  preaches  to  all  men ;  for  an  Author  is  the  Town- 
chaplain  of  the  Universe.  A  man,  who  is  making  a  Book,  will 
scarcely  hang  himself;  all  rich  Lords' -sons,  therefore,  should 
labour  for  the  press ;  for,  in  that  case,  when  you  awake  too  early 
in  bed,  you  have  always  a  plan,  an  aim,  and  therefore  a  cause 
before  you  why  you  should  get  out  of  it.  Better  off  too  is  the 
author  who  collects  rather  than  invents, — for  the  latter  with  its 
ao  For  according  to  the  Jurists,  fifteen  persons  make  a  people. 


LIFE  OF  QUIXTUS  FIXLELX. 


397 


eating  fire  calcines  the  heart :  I  praise  the  Antiquary,  the  Herald - 
ist,  Notemaker,  Compiler  ;  I  esteem  the  Title-perch  (a  fish  called 
Perca-Diagramma,  because  of  the  letters  on  its  scales),  and  the 
Printer  (a  chafer,  called  Scarabceus  Typographic,  which  eats  let- 
ters in  the  hark  of  fir), — neither  of  them  needs  any  greater  or 
fairer  arena  in  the  world  than  a  piece  of  rag-paper,  or  any  other 
laying-apparatus  than  a  pointed  pencil,  wherewith  to  lay  his  four- 
and-twenty  letter-eggs.  —  In  regard  to  the  catalogue  raisonne, 
which  my  gossip  is  now-  drawing  up  of  German  Errata,  I  have 
several  times  suggested  to  him,  "that  it  were  good  if  he  extended 
his  researches  in  one  respect,  and  revised  the  rule,  by  which  it 
has  been  computed,  that  e.g.  for  a  hundredweight  of  pica  black- 
letter,  four  hundred  and  fifty  semicolons,  three  hundred  periods, 
&c.  are  required;  and  to  recount,  and  see  whether  in  Political 
writings  and  Dedications  the  fifty  notes  of  admiration  for  a  hun- 
dredweight of  pica  black-letter  were  not  far  too  small  an  allow- 
ance, and  if  so,  what  the  real  quantity  was  ?" 

Several  days  he  wrote  nothing ;  but  wrapped  himself  in  the 
slough  of  his  parson's-cloak ;  and  so  in  his  canonicals,  beside  the 
Schoolmaster,  put  the  few  A-b-c  shooters,  which  were  not,  lik^ 
forest-shooters,  absent  on  furlough  by  reason  of  the  spring, — 
through  their  platoon  firing  in  the  Hornbook.  He  never  did  more 
than  his  duty,  but  also  never  less.  It  brought  a  soft  benignant 
warmth  over  his  heart,  to  think  that  he,  who  had  once  ducked 
under  a  School-inspectorship,  was  now  one  himself. 

About  ten  o'clock,  we  meet  from  our  different  museums,  and 
examine  the  village,  especially  the  Biographical  furniture  and 
holy  places,  which  I  chance  that  morning  to  have  had  under  my 
pen  or  pantagraph ;  because  I  look  at  them  with  more  interest 
after  my  description  than  before  it. 

Next  comes  dinner. — 

After  the  concluding  grace,  which  is  too  long,  we  both  of  us 
set  to  entering  the  charitable  subsidies,  and  religious  donations, 
which  our  parishioners  have  remitted  to  the  sinking  or  rather 
rising  fund  of  the  church-box  for  the  purchase  of  the  new  steeple- 
globe,  into  two  ledgers  :  the  one  of  these,  with  the  names  of  the 
subscribers,  or  (in  case  they  have  subscribed  for  their  children) 
with  their  children's  names  also,  is  to  be  inurned  in  a  leaden  cap- 
sule, and  preserved  in  the  steeple-ball ;  the  other  will  remain  be- 
low among  the  parish  Registers.  You  cannot  fancy  what  con- 
tributions the  ambition  of  getting  into  the  Ball  brings  us  in ;  I 


398 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


declare,  several  peasants  who  had  given  and  well  once  already,  con- 
tributed again  when  they  had  baptisms :  must  not  little  Hans  be 
in  the  Ball  too  ? 

After  this  book-keeping  by  double -entry,  my  gossip  took  to 
engraving  on  copper.  He  had  been  so  happy  as  to  elicit  the 
discovery,  that  from  a  certain  stroke  resembling  an  inverted 
Latin  S,  the  capital  letters  of  our  German  Chancery-hand,  beau- 
tiful and  intertwisted  as  you  see  them  stand  in  Law-deeds  and 
Letters- of-nobility,  may  every  one  of  them  be  composed  and  spun 
out, 

"Before  you  can  count  sixty,"  said  he  to  me,  "I  take  my 
fundamental-stroke  and  make  you  any  letter  out  of  it." 

I  merely  inverted  this  fundamental- stroke,  that  is,  gave  him 
a  German  S,  and  counted  sixty  till  he  had  it  done.  This  line  of 
beauty,  when  once  it  has  been  twisted  and  flourished  into  all  the 
capitals,  he  purposes  by  copperplates  which  he  is  himself  engrav- 
ing, to  make  more  common  for  the  use  of  Chanceries ;  and  I  may 
take  upon  me  to  give  the  Russian,  the  Prussian,  and  a  few  other 
smaller  Courts,  hopes  of  proof  impressions  from  his  hand :  to 
under- secretaries  they  are  indispensable. 

Now  comes  evening ;  and  it  is  time  for  us  both,  here  forking 
about  with  our  fruit-hooks  on  the  literary  Tree  of  Knowledge,  at 
the  risk  of  our  necks,  to  clamber  down  again  into  the  meadow- 
flowers  and  pasturages  of  rural  joy.  We  wait,  however,  till  the 
busy  Thiennette,  whom  we  are  now  to  receive  into  our  commu- 
nion, has  no  more  walks  to  take  but  the  one  between  us.  Then 
slowly  we  stept  along  (the  sick  lady  was  weak)  through  the  office- 
houses;  that  is  to  say,  through  stalls  and  their  population,  and 
past  a  horrid  lake  of  ducks,  and  past  a  little  milk-pond  of  carps, 
to  both  of  which  colonies,  I  and  the  rest,  like  princes,  gave  bread, 
seeing  we  had  it  in  view  on  the  Sunday  after  the  christening,  to 
— take  them  for  bread  ourselves. 

The  sky  is  still  growing  kindlier  and  redder,  the  swallows  and* 
the  blossom-trees  louder,  the  house -shadows  broader,  and  men 
more  happy.  The  clustering  blossoms  of  the  acacia-grove  hang 
down  over  our  cold  collation ;  and  the  ham  is  not  stuck  (which 
always  vexes  me)  with  flowers,  but  beshaded  with  them  from  a 
distance  

And  now  the  deeper  evening  and  the  nightingale  conspire  to 
soften  me ;  and  I  soften  in  my  turn  the  mild  beings  round  me ; 
especially  the  pale  Thiennette,  to  whom,  or  to  whose  heart,  after 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


399 


the  apoplectic  crush ings  of  a  downpressed  youth,  the  most  violent 
pulses  of  joy  are  heavier  than  the  movements  of  pensive  sadness. 
And  thus  heautifully  runs  our  pure  transparent  life  along,  under 
the  blooming  curtains  of  May ;  and  in  our  modest  pleasures  we 
look  with  timidity  neither  behind  us  nor  before ;  as  people  who 
are  lifting  treasure  gaze  not  round  at  the  road  they  came,  or  the 
road  they  are  going. 

So  pass  our  days.  Today,  however,  it  was  different :  by  this 
time,  usually,  the  evening  meal  is  over ;  and  the  Shock  has  got 
the  osseous  preparation  of  our  supper  between  his  jaws ;  but  to- 
night I  am  still  sitting  here  alone  in  the  garden,  writing  the 
Eleventh  Letter-Box,  and  peeping  out  every  instant  over  the 
meadows,  to  see  if  my  gossip  is  not  coming. 

For  he  is  gone  to  town,  to  bring  a  whole  magazine  of  spice- 
ries  :  his  coat-pockets  are  wide.  Nay,  it  is  certain  enough  that 
oftentimes  he  brings  home  with  him,  simply  in  his  coat-pocket, 
considerable  flesh-tithes  from  his  Guardian,  at  whose  house  he 
alights ;  though  truly  intercourse  with  the  polished  world  and 
city,  and  the  refinement  of  manners  thence  arising, — for  he  calls 
on  the  bookseller,  on  school-colleagues,  and  several  respectable 
shopkeepers, — does,  much  more  than  fl^sh-fetching,  form  the  ob- 
ject of  these  journeys  to  the  city.  This  morning  he  appointed  me 
regent  head  of  the  house,  and  delivered  me  the  fasces  and  curule 
chair.  I  sat  the  whole  day  beside  the  young  pale  mother  ;  and 
could  not  but  think,  simply  because  the  husband  had  left  me 
there  as  his  representative,  that  I  liked  the  fair  soul  better.  She 
had  to  take  dark  colours,  and  paint  out  for  me  the  winter  land- 
scape and  ice  region  of  her  sorrow -wasted  youth;  but  often, 
contrary  to  my  intention,  by  some  simple  elegiac  word,  I  made 
her  still  eye  wet ;  for  the  too  full  heart,  which  had  been  crushed 
with  other  than  sentimental  woes,  overflowed  at  the  smallest 
pressure.  A  hundred  times  in  the  recital  I  was  on  the  point  of 
saying:  "0  yes,  it  was  with  winter  that  your  life  began,  and 
the  course  of  it  has  resembled  winter!" — Windless,  cloudless 
day  !  Three  more  words  about  thee,  the  world  will  still  not  take 
amiss  from  me  ! 

I  advanced  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  heart-central-fire  of  the 
women ;  and  at  last  they  mildly  broke  forth  in  censure  of  the 
Parson  ;  the  best  wives  will  complain  of  their  husbands  to  a 
stranger,  without  in  the  smallest  liking  them  the  less  on  that 
account.    The  mother  and  the  wife,  during  dinner,  accused  him 


\ 


400 


JEAN  PAUL  FEIEDEICH  EICHTEE. 


of  buying  lots  at  every  book-auction  ;  and,  in  truth,  in  such  places, 
he  does  strive  and  bid  not  so  much  for  good  or  for  bad  books — or 
old  ones — or  new  ones — or  such  as  he  likes  to  read — or  any  sort 
of  favourite  books — but  simply  for  books.  The  mother  blamed 
especially  his  squandering  so  much  on  copperplates;  yet  some 
hours  after,  when  the  Schultheis,  or  Mayor,  who  wrote  a  beautiful 
hand,  came  in  to  subscribe  for  the  steeple-ball,  she  pointed  out  to 
him  how  finely  her  son  could  engrave,  and  said  that  it  was  well 
worth  while  to  spend  a  groschen  or  two  on  such  capitals  as  these. 

They  then  handed  me, — for  when  once  women  are  in  the  way 
of  a  full  open-hearted  effusion,  they  like  (only  you  must  not-  turn 
the  stop-cock  of  inquiry)  to  pour  out  the  whole, — a  ring-case,  in 
which  he  kept  a  Chamberlain's  key  that  he  had  found,  and  asked 
me  if  I  knew  who  had  lost  it.  Who  could  know  such  a  thing,  when 
there  ure  almost  more  Chamberlains  than  picklocks  among  us  ? — 

At  last  I  took  heart,  and  asked  after  the  little  toy- press  of 
the  drowned  son,  which  hitherto  I  had  sought  for  in  vain  over  all 
the  house.  Fixlein  himself  had  inquired  for  it,  with  as  little 
success.  Thiennette  gave  the  old  mother  a  persuading  look  full 
of  love ;  and  the  latter  led  me  up-stairs  to  an  outstretched  hoop- 
petticoat,  covering  the  poor  press  as  with  a  dome.  On  the  way 
thither  the  mother  told  me,  she  kept  it  hid  from  her  son,  because 
the  recollection  of  his  brother  would  pain  him.  When  this  de- 
posit-chest of  Time  (the  lock  had  fallen  off)  was  laid  open  to  me, 
and  I  had  looked  into  the  little  charnel-house,  with  its  wrecks  of 
a  childlike  sportful  Past,  I,  without  saying  a  word,  determined, 
some  time  ere  I  went  away,  to  unpack  these  playthings  of  the 
lost  boy,  before  his  surviving  brother :  Can  there  be  aught  finer 
than  to  look  at  these  ash-buried,  deep-sunk  Herculanean  ruins  of 
childhood,  now  dug  up  and  in  the  open  air  ? 

Thiennette  sent  twice  to  ask  me  whether  he  was  come.  He 
and  she,  precisely  because  they  do  not  give  their  love  the  weaken- 
ing expression  of  phrases,  but  the  strengthening  one  of  actions, 
have  a  boundless  feeling  of  it  towards  one  another.  Some  wedded 
pairs  eat  each  other's  lips  and  hearts  and  love  away  by  kisses, — 
as  in  Rome,  the  statues  of  Christ  (by  Angelo)  have  lost  their  feet 
by  the  same  process  of  kissing,  and  got  leaden  ones  instead ;  in 
other  couples,  again,  you  may  see,  by  mere  inspection,  the  number 
of  their  conflagrations  and  eruptions,  as  in  Vesuvius  you  can  dis- 
cover his,  of  which  there  are  now  forty-three  :  but  in  these  two 
beings  rose  the  Greek  fire  of  a  moderate  and  everlasting  love,  and 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


401 


gave  warmth  without  casting  forth  sparks,  and  fiamed  straight  vp 
without  crackling.  The  evening-red  is  flowing  back  more  magic- 
ally from  the  windows  of  the  gardener's  cottage  into  my  grove ; 
and  I  feel  as  if  I  must  say  to  Destiny:  "Hast  thou  a  sharp 
sorrow,  then  throw  it  rather  into  my  breast,  and  strike  not  with 
it  three  good  souls,  who  are  too  happy  not  to  bleed  by  it,  and  too 
sequestered  in  their  little  dim  village  not  to  shrink  back  at  the 
thunderbolt  which  hurries  a  stricken  spirit  from  its  earthly  dwell- 
ing."  

Thou  good  Fixlein  !  Here  comes  he  hurrying  over  the  par- 
sonage-green. What  languishing  looks  full  of  love  already  rest 
in  the  eye  of  thy  Thiennette  ! — What  news  wilt  thou  bring  us 
tonight  from  the  town  ! — How  will  the  ascending  steeple-ball 
refresh  thy  soul  tomorrow  ! — 


TWELFTH  LETTEE-BOX. 

Steeple-ball-Ascension.    The  Toy-press. 

How,  on  this  sixteenth  of  May,  the  old  steeple-ball  was 
twisted-off  from  the  Hukelum  steeple,  and  a  new  one  put  on  in 
its  stead,  will  I  now  describe  to  my  best  ability  ;  but  in  that 
simple  historical  style  of  the  Ancients,  which,  for  great  events, 
is  perhaps  the  most  suitable. 

At  a  very  early  hour,  a  coach  arrived  containing  Messrs. 
Court  -  Guilder  Zeddel  and  Locksmith  Wachser,  and  the  new 
Peter's-cupola  of  the  steeple.  Towards  eight  o'clock  the  com- 
munity, consisting  of  subscribers  to  the  Globe,  was  visibly  col- 
lecting. A  little  later  came  the  Lord  Dragoon  Rittmeister  von 
Aufhammer,  as  Patron  of  the  church  and  steeple,  attended  by 
Mr.  Church-Inspector  Streichert.  Hereupon  my  Reverend  Cousin 
Fixlein  and  I  repaired,  with  the  other  persons  whom  I  have  already 
named,  into  the  Church,  and  there  celebrated  before  innumer- 
able hearers  a  weekday  prayer -service.  Directly  afterwards,  my 
Reverend  Friend  made  his  appearance  above  in  the  pulpit,  and 
endeavoured  to  deliver  a  speech  which  might  correspond  to  the 
solemn  transaction ; — and  immediately  thereafter,  he  read  aloud 
the  names  of  the  patrons  and  charitable  souls,  by  whose  donations 
the  Ball  had  been  put  together ;  and  showed  to  the  congregation 
the  leaden  box  in  which  they  were  specially  recorded  ;  obseiving, 
that  the  book  from  which  he  had  recited  them  was  to  be  reposited 

VOL.  III.  DD 


402 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTEB. 


in  the  Parish  Register-office.  Next  he  held  it  necessary  to  thank 
them  and  God,  that  he,  above  his  deserts,  had  been  chosen  as 
the  instrument  and  undertaker  of  such  a  work.  The  whole  he 
concluded  with  a  short  prayer  for  Mr.  Stechmann  the  Slater  (who 
was  already  hanging  on  the  outside  on  the  steeple,  and  loosening 
the  old  shaft) ;  and  entreated  that  he  might  not  break  his  neck, 
or  any  of  his  members.  A  short  hymn  was  then  sung,  which  the 
most  of  those  assembled  without  the  church  -  doors  sang  along 
with  us,  looking  up  at  the  same  time  to  the  steeple. 

All  of  us  now  proceeded  out  likewise ;  and  the  discarded  ball, 
as  it  were  the  amputated  cock's-comb  of  the  church,  was  lowered 
down  and  untied.  Church  -  Inspector  Streichert  drew  a  leaden 
case  from  the  crumbling  ball,  which  my  Reverend  Friend  put  into 
his  pocket,  purposing  to  read  it  at  his  convenience ;  I,  however, 
said  to  some  peasants  :  "  See,  thus  will  your  names  also  be  pre- 
served in  the  new  Ball,  and  when,  after  long  years,  it  shall  be 
taken  down,  the  box  lies  within  it,  and  the  then  parson  becomes 
acquainted  with  you  all." — And  now  was  the  new  steeple-globe, 
with  the  leaden  cup  in  which  lay  the  names  of  the  bystanders, 
at  length  full-laden  so  to  speak,  and  saturated,  and  fixed  to  the 
pulley-rope ; — and  so  did  this  the  whilom  cupping-glass  of  the 
community  ascend  aloft  

By  heaven !  the  unadorned  style  is  here  a  thing  beyond  my 
power :  for  when  the  Ball  moved,  swung,  mounted,  there  rose  a 
drumming  in  the  centre  of  the  steeple ;  and  the  Schoolmaster, 
who,  till  now,  had  looked  down  through  a  sounding-hole  directed 
towards  the  congregation,  now  stept  out  with  a  trumpet  at  a  side 
sounding-hole,  which  the  mounting  Ball  was  not  to  cross. — But 
when  the  whole  Church  rung  and  pealed,  the  nearer  the  capital 
approached  its  crown,  —  and  when  the  Slater  clutched  it  and 
turned  it  round,  and  happily  incorporated  the  spike  of  it,  and 
delivered  down,  between  Heaven  and  Earth,  and  leaning  on  the 
Ball,  a  Topstone-speech  to  this  and  all  of  us, — and  when  my  gos- 
sip's eyes,  in  his  rapture  at  being  Parson  on  this  great  day,  were 
running  over,  and  the  tears  trickling  down  his  priestly  garment ; 
. — I  believe  I  was  the  only  man, — as  his  mother  was  the  only 
woman, — whose  souls  a  common  grief  laid  hold  of  to  press  them 
even  to  bleeding ;  for  I  and  the  mother  had  yesternight,  as  I  shall 
tell  more  largely  afterwards,  discovered  in  the  little  chest  of  the 
drowned  boy,  from  a  memorial  in  his  father's  hand,  that,  on  the 
day  after  the  morrow,  on  Cantata- Sunday  and  his  bantismal-Sun- 


Life  of  quintus  fixlfin. 


409 


day,  he  would  be — two-and-thirty  years  of  age.  "  0  !"  thought 
I,  while  I  looked  at  the  blue  heaven,  the  green  graves,  the  glitter- 
ing ball,  the  weeping  priest,  "  so,  at  all  times,  stands  poor  man 
with  bandaged  eyes  before  thy  sharp  sword,  incomprehensible 
Destiny  !  And  when  thou  drawest  it  and  brandishest  it  aloft, 
he  listens  with  pleasure  to  the  whizzing  of  the  stroke  before  it 
falls!"— 

Last  night  I  was  aware  of  it ;  but  to  the  reader,  whom  I  was 
preparing  for  it  afar  off,  I  would  tell  nothing  of  the  mournful  news, 
that,  in  the  press  of  the  dead  brother,  I  had  found  an  old  Bible 
which  the  boys  had  used  at  school,  with  a  white  blank  leaf  in  it, 
on  which  the  father  had  written  down  the  dates  of  his  children's 
birth.  And  even  this  it  was  that  raised  in  thee,  thou  poor  mother, 
the  shade  of  sorrow  which  of  late  we  have  been  attributing  to 
smaller  causes ;  and  thy  heart  was  still  standing  amid  the  rain, 
which  seemed  to  us  already  past  over  and  changed  into  a  rain- 
bow ! — Out  of  love  to  him,  she  had  yearly  told  one  falsehood, 
and  concealed  his  age.  By  extreme  good  luck,  he  had  not  been 
present  when  the  press  was  opened.  I  still  purpose,  after  this 
fatal  Sunday,  to  surprise  him  with  the  parti- coloured  reliques  of 
his  childhood,  and  so  of  these  old  Christmas-presents  to  make 
him  new  ones.  In  the  mean  while,  if  I  and  his  mother  can  but 
follow  him  incessantly,  like  fish-hook-floats  and  foot-clogs,  through 
tomorrow  and  next  day,  that  no  murderous  accident  lift  aside  the 
curtain  from  his  birth-certificate, — all  may  yet  be  well.  For  now, 
in  truth,  to  his  eyes,  this  birthday,  in  the  metamorphotic  mirror 
of  his  superstitious  imagination,  and  behind  the  magnifying  magic 
vapour  of  his  present  joys,  would  burn  forth  like  a  red  death- 
warrant  But  besides  all  this,  the  leaf  of  the  Bible  is  now 

sitting  higher  than  any  of  us,  namely,  in  the  new  steeple-ball, 
into  which  I  this  morning  prudently  introduced  it.  Properly 
speaking  there  is  indeed  no  danger. 


THIRTEENTH  LETTER-BOX, 

Christening. 

Today  is  that  stupid  Cantata- Sunday ;  but  nothing  now  re- 
mains of  it  save  an  hour. — By  heaven  !  in  right  spirits  were  we  all 
today.  I  believe  I  have  drunk  as  laithfully  as  another. — In  truth, 


404 


JEAN  PAUL  FRlEDRICH  RICHTER. 


one  should  be  moderate  in  all  things,  in  writing,  in  drinking,  in 
rejoicing ;  and  as  we  lay  straws  into  the  honey  for  our  bees  that 
they  may  not  drown  in  their  sugar,  so  ought  one  at  all  times  to 
lay  a  few  firm  Principles,  and  twigs  from  the  tree  of  Knowledge, 
into  the  Syrup  of  life,  instead  of  those  same  bee-straws,  that  so 
one  may  cling  thereto,  and  not  drown  like  a  rat.  But  now  I  do 
purpose  in  earnest  to — write  (and  also  live)  with  steadfastness ; 
and  therefore,  that  I  may  record  the  christening  ceremony  with 
greater  coolness, — to  besprinkle  my  fire  with  the  night-air,  and  to 
roam  out  for  an  hour  into  the  blossom-and-wave-embroidered  night, 
where  a  lukewarm  breath  of  air,  intoxicated  with  soft  odours,  is 
sinking  down  from  the  blossom-peaks  to  the  low-bent  flowers,  and 
roaming  over  the  meadows,  and  at  last  launching  on  a  wave,  and 
with  it  sailing  down  the  moonshiny  brook.  0,  without,  under  the 
stars,  under  the  tones  of  the  nightingale,  which  seem  to  rever- 
berate, not  from  the  echo,  but  from  the  far-off  down-glancing 
worlds  ;  beside  that  moon,  which  the  gushing  brook  in  its  flicker- 
ing watery  band  is  carrying  away,  and  which  creeps  under  the 
little  shadows  of  the  bank  as  under  clouds, — 0,  amid  such  forms 
and  tones,  the  heart  of  man  grows  serious  ;  and  as  of  old  an  even- 
ing bell  was  rung  to  direct  the  wanderer  through  the  deep  forests 
to  his  nightly  home,  so  in  our  Night  are  such  voices  within  us 
and  about  us,  which  call  to  us  in  our  strayings,  and  make  us 
calmer,  and  teach  us  to  moderate  our  own  joys,  and  to  conceive 
those  of  others. 

I  return,  peaceful  and  cool  enough,  to  my  narrative.  All 
yesternight  I  left  not  the  worthy  Parson  half  an  hour  from  my 
sight,  to  guard  him  from  poisoning  the  well  of  his  life.  Full  of 
paternal  joy,  and  with  the  skeleton  of  the  sermon  (he  was  com- 
mitting it  to  memory)  in  his  hand,  he  set  before  me  all  that  he 
had ;  and  pointed  out  to  me  the  fruit-baskets  of  pleasures  which 
Cantata- Sunday  always  plucked  and  filled  for  him.  He  recounted 
to  me,  as  I  did  not  go  away,  his  baptisms,  his  accidents  of  office; 
told  me  of  his  relatives ;  and  removed  my  uncertainty  with  re- 
gard to  the  public  revenues — of  his  parish,  to  the  number  of  his 
communicants  and  expected  catechumens.  At  this  point,  how- 
ever, I  am  afraid  that  many  a  reader  will  in  vain  endeavour  to 
transport  himself  into  my  situation,  and  still  be  unable  to  dis- 
cover why  I  said  to  Fixlein :  "  Worthy  gossip,  better  no  man 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


405 


could  wish  himself."    I  lied  not,  for  so  it  is  ......  .  But  look 

in  the  Note.31 

At  last  rose  the  Sunday,  the  present ;  and  on  this  holy  day, 
simply  because  my  little  godson  was  for  going  over  to  Christian- 
ity, there  was  a  vast  racket  made  :  every  time  a  conversion  hap- 
pens, especially  of  nations,  there  is  an  uproaring  and  a  shooting  ; 
I  refer  to  the  two  Thirty- Years  Wars,  to  the  more  recent  one, 
and  to  the  earlier,  which  Charlemagne  so  long  carried  on  with 
the  heathen  Saxons :  thus,  in  the  Palais  lioyal,  the  Sun,  at  his 
transit  over  the  meridian,  fires  off  a  cannon.32  But  this  morning 
the  little  Unchristian,  my  godson,  was  precisely  the  person  least 
attended  to  ;  for,  in  thinking  of  the  conversion,  they  had  no  time 
left  to  think  of  the  convert.  Therefore  I  strolled  about  with  him 
myself  half  the  forenoon ;  and,  in  our  walk,  hastily  conferred  on 
him  a  private-baptism ;  having  named  him  Jean  Paul  before  the 
priest  did  so.  At  midday,  we  sent  the  beef  away  as  it  had  come  ; 
the  Sun  of  happiness  having  desiccated  all  our  gastric  juices. 
We  now  began  to  look  about  us  for  pomp ;  I  for  scientific  de- 
corations of  my  hair,  my  godson  for  his  christening- shirt,  and  his 
mother  for  her  dress-cap.  Yet  before  the  child' s-rattle  of  the 
christening-bell  had  been  jingled,  I  and  the  midwife,  in  front  of 
the  mother's  bed,  instituted  Physiognomical  Travels33  on  the  coun- 
tenance of  the  small  Unchristian,  and  returned  with  the  discovery, 
that  some  features  had  been  embossed  by  the  pattern  of  the  mo- 
ther, and  many  firm  portions  resembled  me ;  a  double  similarity, 
in  which  my  readers  can  take  little  interest.  Jean  Paul  looks 
very  sensible  for  his  years,  or  rather  for  his  minutes,  for  it  is  the 
small  one  I  am  speaking  of.  

But  now  I  would  ask,  what  German  writer  durst  take  it  upon 
him  to  spread  out  and  paint  a  large  historic  sheet,  representing 
the  whole  of  us  as  we  went  to  church  ?  Would  he  not  require  to 
draw  the  father,  with  swelling  canonicals,  moving  forward  slowly, 
devoutly,  and  full  of  emotion  ?  Would  he  not  have  to  sketch  the 

31  A  long  philosophical  elucidation  is  indispensahly  requisite :  which  will  be 
found  in  this  Book,  under  the  title :  Natural  Magic  of  the  Imagination.  [A 
part  of  the  Jus  de  Tablette  appended  to  this  Biography,  unconnected  with  it,  and 
not  given  here. — Ed.] 

32  This  pigmy  piece  of  ordnance,  with  its  cunningly  devised  burning-glass,  is 
still  to  be  seen  on  the  south  side  of  the  Paris  Vanity-Fair  ;  and  in  fine  weather, 
to  be  heard,  on  all  sides  thereof,  proclaiming  the  conversion  (so  it  seems  to 
Bichter)  of  the  Day  from  Forenoon  to  Afternoon.  — Ed, 

33  gee  Musaus,  ante. — Ed. 


406 


JEAN  PAUL  FPJEDRICH  BICHTEB. 


godfather,  minded  this  day  to  lend  out  his  names,  which  he  de- 
rived from  two  Apostles  (John  and  Paul),  as  Julius  Caesar  lent 
out  his  names  to  two  things  still  living  even  now  (to  a  month, 
and  a  throne)  ? — And  must  he  not  put  the  godson  on  his  sheet, 
with  whom  even  the  Emperor  Joseph  (in  his  need  of  nurse-milk) 
might  become  a  foster-brother,  in  his  old  days,  if  he  were  still  in 
them  ?— 

In  my  chamber,  I  have  a  hundred  times  determined  to  smile 
at  solemnities,  in  the  midst  of  which  I  afterwards,  while  assisting 
at  them,  involuntarily  wore  a  petrified  countenance,  full  of  dignity 
and  seriousness.  For,  as  the  Schoolmaster,  just  before  the  bap- 
tism, began  to  sound  the  organ, — an  honour  never  paid  to  any 
other  child  in  Hukelmn, — and  when  I  saw  the  wooden  christen- 
ing-angel, like  an  alighted  Genius,  with  his  painted  timber  arm 
spread  out  under  the  baptismal  ewer,  and  I  myself  came  to  stand 
close  by  him,  under  his  gilt  wing,  I  protest  the  blood  went  slow 
and  solemn,  warm  and  close,  through  my  pulsing  head,  and  my 
lungs  full  of  sighs  ;  and,  to  the  silent  darling  tying  in  my  arms, 
whose  unripe  eyes  Nature  yet  held  closed  from  the  full  perspective 
of  the  Earth,  I  wished,  with  more  sadness  than  I  do  to  myself, 
for  his  Future  also  as  soft  a  sleep  as  today  ;  and  as  good  an  angel 
as  today,  but  a  more  living  one,  to  guide  him  into  a  more  living 
religion,  and,  with  invisible  hand,  conduct  him  unlost  through  the 
forest  of  Life,  through  its  falling  trees,  and  Wild  Hunters,34  and 

all  its  storms  and  perils  Will  the  world  not  excuse  me, 

if  when,  by  a  side-glance,  I  saw  on  the  paternal  countenance 
prayers  for  the  son,  and  tears  of  joy  trickling  down  into  the 
prayer ;  and  when  I  noticed  on  the  countenance  of  the  grand- 
mother far  darker  and  fast-hidden  drops,  which  she  could  not 
restrain,  while  I,  in  answer  to  the  ancient  question,  engaged  to 
provide  for  the  child  if  its  parents  died, — am  I  not  to  be  excused 
if  I  then  cast  my  eyes  deep  down  on  my  little  godson,  merely  to 
hide  their  ranning  over?  —  For  I  remembered  that  his  father 
might  perhaps  this  very  day  grow  pale  and  cold  before  a  suddenly 
arising  mask  of  Death ;  I  thought  how  the  poor  little  one  had 
only  changed  his  bent  posture  in  the  womb  with  a  freer  one,  to 
bend  and  cramp  himself  ere  long  more  harshly  in  the  strait  arena 
of  life  ;  I  thought  of  his  inevitable  follies  and  errors  and  sins  ;  01 
these  soiled  steps  to  the  Grecian  Temple  of  our  Perfection ;  I 
thought  that  one  day  his  own  fire  of  genius  might  reduce  himseli 
54  The  "Wild  Hunter,  Wilde  Jciger,  is  a  popular  spectre  of  Germany. — Ed, 


LIFE  OF  QUINTTS  FIXLEIN. 


407 


to  ashes,  as  a  man  that  is  electrified  can  kill  himself  with  his  own 
lightning  All  the  theological  wishes,  which,  on  the  god- 
son-billet printed  over  with  them,  I  placed  in  his  young  bosom, 
were  glowing  written  in  mine  But  the  white  feathered- 
pink  of  my  joy  had  then,  as  it  always  has,  a  bloody  point  within 
it, — I  again,  as  it  always  is,  went  to  nest,  like  a  woodpecker,  in 
a  skull  And  as  I  am  doing  so  even  now,  let  the  describ- 
ing of  the  baptism  be  over  for  today,  and  proceed  again  to- 
morrow. .... 


FOURTEENTH  LETTER-BOX. 

0,  so  is  it  ever !  So  does  Fate  set  fire  to  the  theatre  of  our  little 
plays,  and  our  bright-painted  curtain  of  Futurity  !  So  does  the 
Serpent  of  Eternity  wind  round  us  and  our  joys,  and  crush,  like 
the  royal-snake,  what  it  does  not  poison  !  Thou  good  Fixlein  ! — 
Ah  !  last  night,  I  little  thought  that  thou,  mild  soul,  while  I  was 
writing  beside  thee,  wert  already  journeying  into  the  poisonous 
Earth-shadow  of  Death. 

Last  night,  late  as  it  was,  he  opened  the  lead  box  found  in 
the  old  steeple-ball ;  a  catalogue  of  those  wrho  had  subscribed  to 
the  last  repairing  of  the  church  was  there ;  and  he  began  to  read 
it  now ;  my  presence  and  his  occupations  having  prevented  him 
before.  0,  how  shall  I  tell  that  the  record  of  his  birth -year, 
which  I  had  hidden  in  the  new  Ball,  was  waiting  for  him  in  the 
old  one  ?  that  in  the  register  of  contributions  he  found  his  father's 
name,  with  the  appendage,  "  given  for  his  new-born  son  Egi- 
dius"  ? — 

This  stroke  sank  deep  into  his  bosom,  even  to  the  rending  of 
it  asunder  :  in  this  warm  hour,  full  of  paternal  joy,  after  such  fair 
days,  after  such  fair  employments,  after  dread  of  death  so  often 
survived,  here,  in  the  bright  smooth  sea,  which  is  rocking  and 
bearing  him  along,  starts  snorting,  from  the  bottomless  abyss, 
the  sea-monster  Death  ;  and  the  monster's  throat  yawns  wide, 
and  the  silent  sea  rushes  into  it  in  whirlpools,  and  hurries  him 
along  with  it. 

But  the  patient  man,  quietly  and  slowly,  and  with  a  heart 
silent,  though  deadly  coll,  laid  the  leaves  together ; — looked  softly 
and  firmly  over  the  churchyard,  where,  in  the  moonshine,  the 
grave  of  his  father  was  to  be  distinguished ; — gazed  timidly  up  to 


408 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTE3o 


the  sky,  full  of  stars,  which  a  white  overarching  laurel-tree  half 
screened  from  his  sight and  though  he  longed  to  be  in  bed,  to 
settle  there  and  sleep  it  off,  yet  he  paused  at  the  window  to  pray 
for  his  wife  and  child,  in  case  this  night  were  his  last. 

At  this  moment  the  steeple-clock  struck  twelve ;  but  from 
the  breaking  of  a  pin,  the  weights  kept  rolling  down,  and  the 
clock-hammer  struck  without  stopping, — and  he  heard  with  horror 
the  chains  and  wheels  rattling  along ;  and  he  felt  as  if  Death 
were  hurling  forth  in  a  heap  all  the  longer  hours  which  he  might 
yet  have  had  to  live, — and  now  to  his  eyes,  the  churchyard  began 
to  quiver  and  heave,  the  moonlight  flickered  on  the  church-win- 
dows, and  in  the  church  there  were  lights  flitting  to  and  fro,  and 
in  the  charnel-house  there  was  a  motion  and  a  tumult. 

His  heart  fainted  within  him,  and  he  threw  himself  into  bed, 
and  closed  his  eyes  that  he  might  not  see ; — but  Imagination  in 
the  gloom  now  blew  aloft  the  dust  of  the  dead,  and  whirled  it 
into  giant  shapes,  and  chased  these  hollow  fever -born  masks 
alternately  into  lightning  and  shadow.  Then  at  last  from  trans- 
parent thoughts  grew  coloured  visions,  and  he  dreamed  this 
dream :  He  was  standing  at  the  window  looking  out  into  the 
churchyard ;  and  Death,  in  size  as  a  scorpion,  was  creeping  over 
it,  and  seeking  for  his  bones.  Death  found  some  arm-bones  and 
thigh-bones  on  the  graves,  and  said  :  "  They  are  my  bones  and 
he  took  a  spine  and  the  bone-legs,  and  stood  with  them,  and  the 
two  arm-bones  and  clutched  with  them,  and  found  on  the  grave 
of  Fixlein's  father  a  skull,  and  put  it  on.  Then  he  lifted  a  scythe 
beside  the  little  flower-garden,  and  cried:  "  Fixlein,  where  art 
thou  ?  My  finger  is  an  icicle  and  no  finger,  and  I  will  tap  on 
thy  heart  with  it."  The  skeleton,  thus  piled  together,  now  looked 
for  him  who  was  standing  at  the  window,  and  powerless  to  stir 
from  it ;  and  carried  in  the  one  hand,  instead  of  a  sandglass,  the 
ever-striking  steeple-clock,  and  held  out  the  finger  of  ice,  like  a 
dagger,  far  into  the  air  

Then  he  saw  his  victim  above  at  the  window,  and  raised  him- 
self as  high  as  the  laurel-tree  to  stab  straight  into  his  bosom  with 
the  finger, — and  stalked  towards  him.  But  as  he  came  nearer, 
his  pale  bones  grew  redder,  and  vapours  floated  woolly  round  his 
haggard  form.  Flowers  started  up  from  the  ground ;  and  he  stood 
transfigured  and  without  the  clam  of  the  grave,  hovering  above 
them,  and  the  balm-breath  from  the  flower-cups  wafted  him  gently 
on ; — and  as  he  came  nearer,  the  scytho  and  cloak  were  gone. 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


409 


and  in  his  bony  breast  he  had  a  heart,  and  on  his  bony  head  red 
lips ; — and  nearer  still,  there  gathered  on  him  soft,  transparent, 
rosebalm-dipt  flesh,  like  the  splendour  of  an  Angel  flying  hither 
from  the  starry  blue  ; — and  close  at  hand,  he  was  an  Angel  with 
shut  snow-white  eyelids  

The  heart  of  my  friend,  quivering  like  a  Harmonica-bell,  now 
melted  in  bliss  in  his  clear  bosom ; — and  when  the  Angel  opened 
its  eyes,  his  were  pressed  together  by  the  weight  of  celestial  rap- 
ture, and  his  dream  fled  away.  

But  not  his  life  :  he  opened  his  hot  eyes,  and — his  good  wife 
had  hold  of  his  feverish  hand,  and  was  standing  in  room  of  the 
Angel. 

The  fever  abated  towards  morning :  but  the  certainty  of  dying 
still  throbbed  in  every  artery  of  the  hapless  man.  He  called  for 
his  fair  little  infant  into  his  sick-bed,  and  pressed  it  silently, 
though  it  began  to  cry,  too  hard  against  his  paternal  heavy-laden 
breast.  Then  towards  noon  his  soul  became  cool,  and  the  sultry 
thunder-clouds  within  it  drew  back.  And  here  he  described  to  us 
the  previous  (as  it  were,  arsenical)  fantasies  of  his  usually  quiet 
head.  But  it  is  even  those  tense  nerves,  which  have  not  quivered 
at  the  touch  of  a  poetic  hand  striking  them  to  melody  of  sorrow, 
that  start  and  fly  asunder  more  easily  under  the  fierce  hand  of 
Fate,  when  with  sweeping  stroke  it  smites  into  discord  the  firm- 
set  strings. 

But  towards  night  his  ideas  again  began  rushing  in  a  torch  - 
dance,  like  fire-pillars  round  his  soul :  every  artery  became  a 
burning-rod,  and  the  heart  drove  flaming  naphtha-brooks  into  the 
brain.  All  within  his  soul  grew  bloody  :  the  blood  of  his  drowned 
brother  united  itself  with  the  blood  which  had  once  flowed  from 
Thiennette's  arm,  into  a  bloody  rain ; — he  still  thought  he  was 
in  the  garden  in  the  night  of  betrothment,  he  still  kept  calling 
for  bandages  to  stanch  blood,  and  was  for  hiding  his  head  in  the 
ball  of  the  steeple.  Nothing  afflicts  one  more  than  to  see  a  rea- 
sonable moderate  man,  who  has  been  so  even  in  his  passions, 
raving  in  the  poetic  madness  of  fever.  And  yet  if  nothing  save 
this  mouldering  corruption  can  soothe  the  hot  brain  ;  and  if,  while 
the  reek  and  thick  vapour  of  a  boiling  nervous-spirit,  and  the 
hissing  water-spouts  of  the  veins  are  encircling  and  eclipsing  the 
stifled  soul,  a  higher  Finger  presses  through  the  cloud,  and  sud- 
denly lifts  the  poor  bewildered  spirit  from  amid  the  smoke  to  a 
sun — is  it  more  just  to  complain,  than  to  reflect  that  Fate  is  like 


410 


JEAN  PAUL  FPIEDPJCH  PICHTER. 


the  oculist,  who,  when  about  to  open  to  a  blind  eye  the  world  of 
light,  first  bandages  and  darkens  the  other  eye  that  sees  ? 

But  the  sorrow  does  affect  me,  which  I  read  on  Thiennette's 
pale  lips,  though  do  not  hear.  It  is  not  the  distortion  of  an  ex- 
cruciating agony,  nor  the  burning  of  a  dried-up  eye,  nor  the  loud 
lamenting  or  violent  movement  of  a  tortured  frame  that  I  see  in 
her ;  but  what  I  am  forced  to  see  in  her,  and  what  too  keenly 
cuts  the  sympathising  heart,  is  a  pale,  still,  unmoved;  undistorted 
face,  a  pale  bloodless  head,  which  Sorrow  is  as  it  were  holding  up 
after  the  stroke,  like  a  head  just  severed  by  the  axe  of  the  heads- 
man ;  for,  0  !  on  this  form  the  wounds,  from  which  the  three- 
edged  dagger  had  been  drawn,  are  all  fallen  firmly  together,  and 
the  blood  is  flowing  from  them  in  secret  into  the  choking  heart. 
0  Thiennette,  go  away  from  the  sick-bed,  and  hide  that  face  which 
is  saying  to  us:  "Now  do  I  know  that  I  shall  not  have  any 
happiness  on  Earth ;  now  do  I  give  over  hoping — would  this  life 
were  but  soon  done." 

You  will  not  comprehend  my  sympathy,  if  you  know  not  what, 
some  horns  ago,  the  too  loud  lamenting  mother  told  me.  Thien- 
nette, who  of  old  had  always  trembled  for  his  thirty- second  year, 
had  encountered  this  superstition  with  a  nobler  one  :  she  had 
purposely  stood  farther  back  at  the  marriage -altar,  and  in  the 
bridal-night  fallen  sooner  asleep  than  he  ;  thereby — as  is  the 
popular  belief — so  to  order  it  that  she  might  also  die  sooner. 
Nay,  she  has  determined  if  he  die,  to  lay  with  his  corpse  a  piece 
of  her  apparel,  that  so  she  may  descend  the  sooner  to  keep  him 
company  in  his  narrow  house.  Thou  good,  thou  faithful  wife,  but 
thou  unhappy  one  ! — 


CHAPTER  LAST. 

I  have  left  Hukelum,  and  my  gossip  his  bed ;  and  the  one  is 
as  sound  as  the  other.    The  cure  was  as  foolish  as  the  malady. 

It  first  occurred  to  me,  that  as  Boerhaave  used  to  remedy 
convulsions  by  convulsions,  one  fancy  might  in  my  gossip's  case 
be  remedied  by  another ;  namely,  by  the  fancy  that  he  was  yet 
no  man  of  thirty- two,  but  only  a  man  of  six  or  nine.  Deliriums 
are  dreams  not  encircled  by  sleep ;  and  all  dreams  transport  us 
back  into  youth,  why  not  deliriums  too  ?   I  accordingly  directed 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


411 


every  one  to  leave  the  patient :  only  his  mother,  while  the  fiercest 
meteors  were  dancing  and  hissing  before  his  fevered  soul,  was  to 
sit  down  by  him  alone,  and  speak  to  him  as  if  he  were  a  child  of 
eight  years.  The  bed-mirror  also  I  directed  her  to  cover.  She 
did  so  ;  she  spoke  to  him  as  if  he  had  the  small-pox  fever ;  and 
when  he  cried  :  "  Death  is  standing  with  two-and-thirty  pointed 
teeth  before  me,  to  eat  my  heart,"  she  said  to  him:  "Little  dear, 
I  will  give  thee  thy  roller -hat,  and  thy  copybook,  and  thy  case, 
and  thy  hussar-cloak  again,  and  more  too,  if  thou  wilt  be  good." 
A  reasonable  speech  he  would  have  taken  up  and  heeded  much 
less  than  he  did  this  foolish  one. 

At  last  she  said, — for  to  women  in  the  depth  of  sorrow,  dis- 
simulation becomes  easy :  ' '  Well,  I  will  try  it  this  once,  and  give 
thee  thy  playthings  :  but  do  the  like  again,  thou  rogue,  and  roll 
thyself  about  in  the  bed  so,  with  the  small-pox  on  thee  !"  And 
with  this,  from  her  full  apron  she  shook  out  on  the  bed  the  whole 
stock  of  playthings  and  dressing-ware,  which  I  had  found  in  the 
press  of  the  drowned  brother.  First  of  all  his  copybook,  where 
Egidius  in  his  eighth  year  had  put  down  his  name,  which  he 
necessarily  recognised  as  his  own  handwriting ;  then  the  black 
velvet  fall  -hat  or  roller -cap;  then  the  red  and  white  leading- 
strings  ;  his  knife-case,  with  a  little  pamphlet  of  tin-leaves ;  his 
green  hussar-cloak,  with  its  stiff  facings ;  and  a  whole  orbis  p  ictus 
or  fetus  of  Niirnberg  puppets.  .  .  . 

The  sick  man  recognised  in  a  moment  these  projecting 
peaks  of  a  spring-world  sunk  in  the  stream  of  Time, — these^ 
half  shadows,  this  dusk  of  down-gone  days, — this  conflagration  - 
place  and  Golgotha  of  a  heavenly  time,  which  none  of  us  forgets, 
which  we  love  forever,  and  look  back  to  even  from  the  grave.  .  .  . 
And  when  he  saw  all  this,  he  slowly  turned  round  his  head,  as  if 
he  were  awakening  from  a  long  heavy  dream ;  and  his  whole  heart 
flowed  down  in  warm  showers  of  tears,  and  he  said,  fixing  his  full 
eyes  on  the  eyes  of  his  mother  :  ' '  But  are  my  father  and  brother 
still  living,  then'?" — "They  are  dead  lately,"  said  the  wounded 
mother ;  but  her  heart  was  overpowered,  and  she  turned  away 
her  eyes,  and  bitter  tears  fell  unseen  from  her  down-bent  head. 
And  now  at  once  that  evening,  when  he  lay  confined  to  bed  by 
the  death  ol  his  father,  and  was  cured  by  his  playthings,  over- 
flowed his  soul  with  splendour  and  lights,  and  presence  of  the 
past. 

And  so  Deliriujn  dyed  lor  itself  rosy  wings  in  the  Aurora  of 


412 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDKICH  RICHTER. 


life,  and  fanned  the  panting  soul, — and  shook  lown  golden  butter- 
fly-dust from  its  plumage  on  the  path,  on  the  flowerage  of  the  suf- 
fering man; — in  the  far  distance  rose  lovely  tones,  in  the  distance 
floated  lovely  clouds, — 0,  his  heart  was  like  to  fall  in  pieces,  but 
only  into  fluttering  flower- stamina,  into  soft  sentient  nerves ;  his 
eyes  were  like  to  melt  away,  but  only  into  dewdrops  for  the  cups 
of  joy-blossoms,  into  blooddrops  for  loving  hearts ;  his  soul  was 
floating,  palpitating,  drinking  and  swimming  in  the  warm  relax- 
ing rose-perfume  of  the  brightest  delusion  

The  rapture  bridled  his  feverish  heart ;  and  his  mad  pulse 
grew  calm.  Next  morning,  his  mother,  when  she  saw  that  all 
was  prospering,  would  have  had  the  church-bells  rung,  to  make 
him  think  that  the  second  Sunday  was  already  here.  But  his 
wife  (perhaps  out  of  shame  in  my  presence)  was  averse  to  the 
lying ;  and  said  it  would  be  all  the  same  if  we  moved  the  month- 
hand  of  his  clock  (but  otherwise  than  Hezekiah's  Dial)  eight  days 
forward ;  especially  as  he  was  wont  rather  to  rise  and  look  at  his 
clock  for  the  day  of  the  month,  than  to  turn  it  up  in  the  Almanac. 
I  for  my  own  part  simply  went  up  to  the  bedside,  and  asked  him : 
"  If  he  was  cracked — what  in  the  world  he  meant  with  his  mad 
death-dreams,  when  he  had  lain  so  long,  and  passed  clean  over 
the  Cantata- Sunday,  and  yet,  out  of  sheer  terror,  was  withering 
to  a  lath?" 

A  glorious  reinforcement  joined  me  ;  the  Flesher  or  Quarter- 
master. In  his  anxiety,  he  rushed  into  the  room,  without  saluting 
the  women,  and  I  forthwith  addressed  him  aloud:  "My  gossip 
here  is  giving  me  trouble  enough,  Mr.  Kegiments- Quartermaster : 
last  night,  he  let  them  persuade  him  he  was  little  older  than  his 
own  son  :  here  is  the  child's  fall-hat  he  was  for  putting  on." 
The  Guardian  deuced  and  devilled,  and  said:  "Ward,  are  you  a 
parson  or  a  fool  ? — Have  not  I  told  you  twenty  times,  there  was 
a  maggot  in  your  head  about  this  ?" — 

At  last  he  himself  perceived  that  he  was  not  rightly  wise,  and 
so  grew  better ;  besides  the  guardian's  invectives,  my  oaths  con- 
tributed a  good  deal ;  for  I  swore  I  would  hold  him  as  no  right 
gossip,  and  edite  no  word  of  his  Biography,  unless  he  rose  directly 
and  got  better. 

— In  short,  he  showed  so  much  politeness  to  me  that  he  rose 
and  got  better. — He  was  still  sickly,  it  is  true,  on  Saturday ;  and 
on  Sunday  could  not  preach  a  sermon  (something  of  the  sort  the 
Schoolmaster  read,  instead)  ;  but  yet  he  took  Confessions  on 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


413 


Saturday,  and  at  the  altar  next  day  he  dispensed  the  Sacrament. 
Service  ended,  the  feast  of  his  recovery  was  celebrated,  my  fare- 
well-feast included ;  for  I  was  to  go  in  the  afternoon. 

This  last  afternoon  I  will  chalk  out  with  all  possible  breadth, 
and  then,  with  the  pantagraph  of  free  garrulity,  fill  up  the  outline 
and  draw  on  the  great  scale. 

During  the  Thanksgiving-repast,  there  arrived  considerable 
personal  tribute  from  his  catechumens,  and  fairings  by  way  of 
bonfire  for  his  recovery ;  proving  how  much  the  people  loved  him,  , 
and  how  well  he  deserved  it :  for  one  is  oftener  hated  without 
reason  by  the  many,  than  without  reason  loved  by  them.  But 
Fixlein  was  friendly  to  every  child ;  was  none  of  those  clergy, 
who  never  pardon  their  enemies  except  in — God's  stead ;  and  he 
praised  at  once  the  whole  world,  his  wife  and  himself. 

I  then  attended  at  his  afternoon's  catechising;  and  looked 
down  (as  he  did  in  the  first  Letter-Box)  from  the  choir,  under  the 
wing  of  the  wooden  cherub.  Behind  this  angel,  I  drew  out  my 
note-book,  and  shifted  a  little  under  the  cover  of  the  Black  Board, 
with  its  white  Psalm-ciphers,35  and  wrote  down  what  I  was  there 
— thinking.  I  was  well  aware,  that  when  I  today,  on  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  May,  retired  from  this  Salemic36  spinning-school,  where 
one  is  taught  to  spin  out  the  thread  of  life,  in  fairer  wise,  and 
without  wetting  it  by  foreign  mixtures, — I  was  well  aware,  I  say, 
that  I  should  carry  off  with  me  far  more  elementary  principles  of 
the  Science  of  Happiness,  than  the  whole  Chamberlain  piquet  ever 
muster  all  their  days.  I  noted  down  my  first  impression,  in  the 
following  Kules  of  Life  for  myself  and  the  press  : 

"Little  joys  refresh  us  constantly  like  house-bread,  and  never 
bring  disgust ;  and  great  ones,  like  sugar-bread,  briefly,  and  then 
bring  it. — Trifles  we  should  let,  not  plague  us  only,  but  also 
gratify  us ;  we  should  seize  not  their  poison-bags  only,  but  their 
honey-bags  also  :  and  if  flies  often  buz  about  our  room,  we  should, 
like  Domitian,  amuse  ourselves  with  flies,  or,  like  a  certain  still 
living  Elector,37  feed  them. — For  civic  life  and  its  micrologies, 
for  which  the  Parson  has  &  natural  taste,  we  must  acquire  an 
artificial  one;  must  learn  to  love  without  esteeming  it;  learn, 

*s  Indicating  to  the  congregation  what  Psalm  is  to  be  sung. — Ed. 

36  Salerno  was  once  famous  for  its  medical  science ;  but  here,  as  in  many 
other  cases,  we  could  desire  the  aid  of  Herr  Reinhold  with  his  Lexicon-Commen- 
tary.— Ed. 

37  This  hospitable  Potentate  is  as  unknown  to  me  as  to  any  of  my  readers, 
—Ed. 


414  JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 

far  as  it  ranks  beneath  human  life,  to  enjoy  it  like  another  twig 
of  this  human  life,  as  poetically  as  we  do  the  pictures  of  it  in 
romances.  The  loftiest  mortal  loves  and  seeks  the  same  sort  of 
things  with  the  meanest ;  only  from  higher  grounds  and  by  higher 
paths.  Be  every  minute,  Man,  a  full  life  to  thee! — Despise 
anxiety  and  wishing,  the  Future  and  the  Past ! — If  the  Second- 
pointer  can  be  no  road-pointer  into  an  Eden  for  thy  soul,  the 
Month-pointer  will  still  less  be  so,  for  thou  livest  not  from  month 
to  month,  but  from  second  to  second  !  Enjoy  thy  Existence  more 
than  thy  Manner  of  Existence,  and  let  the  dearest  object  of  thy 
Consciousness  be  this  Consciousness  itself ! — Make  not  the  Pre- 
sent a  means  of  thy  Future ;  for  this  Future  is  nothing  but  a 
coming  Present ;  and  the  Present,  which  thou  despisest,  was  once 
a  Future  which  thou  desiredst ! — Stake  in  no  lotteries,-— keep  at 
home, — give  and  accept  no  pompous  entertainments, — travel  not 
abroad  every  year  ! — Conceal  not  from  thyself,  by  long  plans,  thy 
household  goods,  thy  chamber,  thy  acquaintance  ! — Despise  Life, 
that  thou  mayst  enjoy  it!  —  Inspect  the  neighbourhood  of  thy 
life  ;  every  shelf,  every  nook  of  thy  abode  ;  and  nestling  in,  quar- 
ter thyself  in  the  farthest  and  most  domestic  winding  of  thy  snail- 
house  ! — Look  upon  a  capital  but  as  a  collection  of  villages,  a 
village  as  some  blind-alley  of  a  capital ;  fame  as  the  talk  of  neigh- 
bours at  the  street-door ;  a  library  as  a  learned  conversation,  joy 
as  a  second,  sorrow  as  a  minute,  life  as  a  day ;  and  three  things 
as  all  in  all :  God,  Creation,  Virtue  !"  

And  if  I  would  follow  myself  and  these  rules,  it  will  behove 
me  not  to  make  so  much  of  this  Biography ;  but  once  for  all,  like 
a  moderate  man,  to  let  it  sound  out. 

After  the  Catechising,  I  stept  down  to  my  wide-gowned  and  . 
black-gowned  gossip.  The  congregation  gone,  we  clambered  up 
to  all  high  places,  perused  the  plates  on  the  pews, — I  took  a 
lesson  on  the  altar  on  its  inscription  incrusted  with  the  sediment 
of  Time  (I  speak  not  metaphorically) ;  I  organed,  my  gossip  man- 
aging the  bellows  ;  I  mounted  the  pulpit,  and  was  happy  enough 
there  to  alight  on  one  other  rose- shoot,  which,  in  the  farewell 
minute,  I  could  still  plant  in  the  rose-garden  of  my  Fixlein.  For 
I  descried  aloft,  on  the  back  of  a  wooden  Apostle,  the  name  La- 
rater,  which  the  Zurich  Physiognomist  had  been  pleased  to  leave 
on  this  sacred  Torso  in  the  course  of  his  wayfaring.  Fixlein  did 
not  know  the  hand,  but  I  did,  for  I  had  seen  it  frequently  in 
Flachsenfingen,  not  only  on  the  tapestry  oi  a  Court  Lady  there, 


LIFE  OP  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


415 


but  also  in  his  Hand-Library  ,-38  and  met  with  it  besides  in  many 
country  churches,  forming,  as  it  were,  the  Directory  and  Address- 
Calendar  of  this  wandering  name,  for  Lavater  likes  to  inscribe  in 
pulpits,  as  a  shepherd  does  in  trees,  the  name  of  his  beloved.  I 
could  now  advise  my  gossip  prudently  to  cut  away  the  name,  with 
the  chip  of  wood  containing  it,  from  the  back  of  the  Apostle,  and 
to  preserve  it  carefully  among  his  curiosa. 

On  returning  to  the  parsonage,  I  made  for  my  hat  and  stick ; 
but  the  design,  as  it  were  the  projection  and  contour  of  a  supper 
in  the  acacia-grove,  had  already  been  sketched  by  Thiennette.  I 
declared  that  I  would  stay  till  evening,  in  case  the  young  mother 
went  out  with  us  to  the  proposed  meal  ....  and  truly  the  Bio- 
grapher at  length  got  his  way,  all  doctors'  regulations  notwith- 
standing. 

I  then  constrained  the  Parson  to  put  on  his  Krautermiitze,39 
or  Herb-cap,  which  he  had  stitched  together  out  of  simples  for 
the  strengthening  of  his  memory;  "  Would  to  Heaven,"  said  I, 
"  that  Princes  instead  of  their  Princely  Hats,  Doctors  and  Car- 
dinals instead  of  theirs,  and  Saints  instead  of  martyr-crowns, 
would  clap  such  memory-bonnets  on  their  heads!" — Thereupon, 
till  the  roasting  and  cooking  within  doors  were  over,  we  marched 
out  alone  over  the  parsonage  meadows,  and  talked  of  learned 
matters,  we  packed  ourselves  into  the  ruined  Bobber- Castle,  on 
which  my  gossip,  as  already  mentioned,  has  a  literary  work  in 
hand.  I  deeply  approved,  the  rather  as  this  Kidnapper-tower 
had  once  belonged  to  an  Auf  hammer,  his  intention  of  dedicating 
the  description  to  the  Kittmeister :  that  nobleman,  I  think,  will 
sooner  give  his  name  to  the  Book  than  to  the  Shock.  For  the 
rest,  I  exhorted  my  fellow-craftsman  to  pluck  up  literary  heart, 
and  said  to  him  :  "  A  fearless  pen,  good  gossip  !  Let  Subrector 
Hans  von  Fiichslein  be,  if  he  like,  the  Dragon  of  the  Apocalypse, 
lying  in  wait  for  the  delivery  of  the  fugitive  Woman,  to  swallow 
the  offspring ;  I  am  there  too,  and  have  my  Mend  the  Editor  of 
the  Litter  aturzeitung  at  my  side,  who  will  gladly  permit  me  to 
give  ananticritique,  on  paying  the  insertion- dues  !" — I  especially 

35  A  little  work  printed  in  manuscript  types  ;  and  seldom  given  by  him  to  any 
but  Princes.  This  piece  of  print-writing  he  intentionally  passes  off  to  the  great 
as  a  piece  of  hand- writing ;  these  persons  being  both  more  habituated  and  in- 
clined to  the  reading  of  manuscript  than  of  print. 

99  Thus  defined  by  Adelung  in  his  Lexicon  :  "  Krautermiitze,  in  Medicine,  a 
cap  with  various  dried  herbs  sewed  into  it,  and  which  is  worn  for  all  manner  cf 
troubles  in  the  head." — Ed. 


416 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


excited  him  to  new  fillings  and  return-freights  of  his  Letter-Boxes. 
I  have  not  taken  oath  that  into  this  biographical  chest-of-drawers, 
I  will  not  in  the  course  of  time  introduce  another  Box.  4 'Neither 
to  my  godson,  worthy  gossip,  will  it  do  any  harm  that  he  is  pre- 
sented, poor  child,  even  now  to  the  reading  public,  when  he  does 
not  count  more  months  than,  as  Horace  will  have  it,  a  literary 
child  should  count  years,  namely,  nine." 

In  walking  homewards,  I  praised  his  wife.  "  If  marriage," 
said  I  to  him,  "is  the  madder,  which  in  maids,  as  in  cotton, 
makes  the  colours  visible,  then  I  contend,  that  Thiennette,  when 
a  maid,  could  scarcely  be  so  good  as  she  is  now  when  a  wife.  By 
Heaven  !  in  such  a  marriage,  I  should  write  Books  of  quite  an- 
other sort,  divine  ones ;  in  a  marriage,  I  mean,  where  beside  the 
writing-table  (as  beside  the  great  voting-table  at  the  Regensburg 
Diets,  there  are  little  tables  of  confectionery) ;  where  in  like  man- 
ner, I  say,  a  little  jar  of  marmalade  were  standing  by  me,  namely, 
a  swTeetened,  dainty,  lovely  face,  and  out  of  measure  fond  of  the 
Letter-Box-writer,  gossip !  Your  marriage  will  resemble  the  Aca- 
cia-grove we  are  now  going  to,  the  leaves  of  which  grow  thicker 
wdth  the  heat  of  summer,  while  other  shrubs  are  yielding  only 
shrunk  and  porous  shade." 

As  we  entered  through  the  upper  garden-door  into  this  same 
bower,  the  supper  and  the  good  mistress  were  already  there. 
Nothing  is  more  pure  and  tender  than  the  respect  with  which  a 
wife  treats  the  benefactor  or  comrade  of  her  husband :  and  hap- 
pily the  Biographer  himself  was  this  comrade,  and  the  object  of 
this  respect.  Our  talk  was  cheerful,  but  my  spirit  was  oppressed. 
The  fetters,  which  bind  the  mere  reader  to  my  heroes,  were  in 
my  case  of  triple  force ;  as  I  was  at  once  their  guest  and  their 
portrait-painter.  I  told  the  Parson  that  he  would  live  to  a  greater 
p.ge  than  I,  for  that  his  temperate  temperament  was  balanced  as 
if  by  a  doctor  so  equally  between  the  nervousness  of  refinement, 
and  the  hot  thick-bloodedness  of  the  rustic.  Fixlein  said  that 
if  he  lived  but  as  long  as  he  had  done,  namely,  two-and-thirty 
years,  it  would  amount,  exclusive  of  the  leap-year-days,  to  280,320 
seconds,  which  in  itself  was  something  considerable  ;  and  that  he 
often  reckoned  up  with  satisfaction  the  many  thousand  persons  of 
his  own  age  that  would  have  a  life  equally  long. 

At  last  I  tried  to  get  in  motion  ;  for  the  red  lights  of  the 
falling  sun  were  mounting  up  over  the  grove,  and  dipping  us  still 
deeper  in  the  shadows  of  night :  the  young  mother  had  grown 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


417 


chill  in  the  evening  dew.  In  confused  mood,  I  invited  the  Par- 
son to  visit  me  soon  in  the  city,  where  I  would  show  him  not 
only  all  the  chambers  of  the  Palace,  but  the  Prince  himself. 
Gladder  there  was  nothing  this  day  on  our  old  world  than  the 
face  to  which  I  said  so ;  and  than  the  other  one  which  was  the 
mild  reflexion  of  the  former. — For  the  Biographer  it  would  have 
been  too  hard,  if  now  in  that  minute,  when  his  fancy,  like  mirror- 
telescopes,  was  representing  every  object  in  a  tremulous  form,  he 
had  been  obliged  to  cut  and  run  ;  if,  I  will  say,  it  had  not  occurred 
to  him  that  to  the  young  mother  it  could  do  little  harm  (but 
much  good),  were  she  to  take  a  short  walk,  and  assist  in  escort- 
ing the  Author  and  architect  of  the  present  Letter-Box  out  of 
the  garden  to  his  road. 

In  short,  I  took  this  couple  one  in  each  hand,  instead  of  under 
each  arm,  and  moved  with  them  through  the  garden  to  the  Flachs- 
enfingen  highway.  I  often  abruptly  turned  round  my  head  be- 
tween them,  as  if  I  had  heard  some  one  coming  after  us ;  but  in 
reality  I  only  meant  once  more,  though  mournfully,  to  look  back 
into  the  happy  hamlet,  whose  houses  were  all  dwellings  of  con- 
tented still  Sabbath-joy,  and  which  is  happy  enough,  though  over 
its  wide-parted  pavement-stones  there  passes  every  week  but  one 
barber,  every  holiday  but  one  dresser  of  hair,  and  every  year  but 
one  hawker  of  parasols.  Then  truly  I  had  again  to  turn  round  my 
head,  and  look  at  the  happy  pair  beside  me.  My  otherwise  affec- 
tionate gossip  could  not  rightly  suit  himself  to  these  tokens  of 
sorrow :  but  in  thy  heart,  thou  good,  so  oft  afflicted  sex,  every 
mourning-bell  soon  finds  its  unison ;  and  Thiennette,  ennobled 
with  the  thin  trembling  resonance  of  a  reverberating  soul,  gave  me 

back  all  my  tones  with  the  beauties  of  an  echo.  At  last  we 

reached  the  boundary,  over  which  Thiennette  could  not  be  allowed 
to  walk ;  and  now  must  I  part  from  my  gossip,  with  whom  I  had 
talked  so  gaily  every  morning  (each  of  us  from  his  bed),  and  from 
the  still  circuit  of  modest  hope  where  he  dwelt,  and  return  once 
more  to  the  rioting,  fermenting  Court-sphere,  where  men  in  bull- 
beggar  tone  demand  from  Fate  a  root  of  Life-Licorice,  thick  as 
the  arm,  like  the  botanical  one  on  the  Wolga,  not  so  much  that 
they  may  chew  the  sweet  beam  themselves,  as  fell  others  to  earth 
with  it. 

As  I  thought  to  myself  that  I  would  say,  Farewell !  to  them, 
all  the  coming  plagues,  all  the  corpses,  and  all  the  marred  wishes 
of  this  good  pair,  arose  before  my  heart ;  and  I  remembered  that 

VOL.  III.  EE 


418 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDEICH  EICHTER. 


little  save  the  falling  asleep  of  joy-flowers  would  mark  the  current 
of  their  Life-day,  as  it  does  of  mine  and  of  every  one's. — And  yet 
is  it  fairer,  if  they  measure  their  years  not  hy  the  Water-clock  of 
falling  tears,  but  by  the  Floicer-clock40  of  asleep-going  flowers, 
whose  bells  in  our  short-lived  garden  are  sinking  together  before 
us  from  hour  to  hour. — 

I  would  even  now — for  I  still  recollect  how  I  hung  with  stream- 
ing eyes  over  these  two  loved  ones,  as  over  their  corpses — ad- 
dress myself,  and  say:  Far  too  soft,  Jean  Paid,  whose  chalk 
still  sketches  the  models  of  Nature  on  a  ground  of  Melancholy ; 
harden  thy  heart  like  thy  frame,  and  waste  not  thyself  and  others 
by  such  thoughts.  Yet  why  should  I  do  it,  why  should  I  not  con- 
fess directly  what,  in  the  softest  emotion,  I  said  to  these  two 
beings  ?  "  May  all  go  right  with  you,  ye  mild  beings,"  I  said,  for 
I  no  longer  thought  of  courtesies,  "  niay  the  arm  of  Providence 
bear  gently  your  lacerated  hearts,  and  the  good  Father,  above  all 
these  suns  which  are  now  looking  down  on  us,  keep  you  ever 
united,  and  exalt  you  still  undivided  to  his  bosom  and  his  lips !" — 
"Be  you  too  right  happy  and  glad!"  said  Thiennette. — "And  to 
you,  Thiennette,"  continued  I,  "Ah!  to  your  pale  cheeks,  to  your 
oppressed  heart,  to  your  long  cold  maltreated  youth,  I  can  never, 
never  wish  enough.  No !  But  all  that  can  soothe  a  wounded 
soul,  that  can  please  a  pure  one,  that  can  still  the  hidden  sigh — 
0,  all  that  you  deserve — may  this  be  given  you ;  and  when  you 
see  me  again,  then  say  to  me,  1 1  am  now  much  happier !'  " 

We  were  all  of  us  too  deeply  moved.  We  at  last  tore  ourselves 
asunder  from  repeated  embraces ;  my  friend  retired  with  the  soul 
whom  he  loves; — I  remained  alone  behind  him  with  the  Night. 

And  I  walked  without  aim  through  woods,  through  valleys, 
and  over  brooks,  and  through  sleeping  villages,  to  enjoy  the  great 
Night  like  a  Day.  I  walked,  and  still  looked  like  the  magnet,  to 
the  region  of  midnight,  to  strengthen  my  heart  at  the  gleaming 
twilight,  at  this  upstretching  Aurora  of  a  morning  beneath  our 
feet.  White  night -butterflies  flitted,  white  blossoms  fluttered, 
white  stars  fell,  and  the  white  snow-powder  hung  silvery  in  the 
high  Shadow  of  the  Earth,  which  reaches  beyond  the  Moon,  and 
which  is  our  Night.  Then  began  the  Eolian  Harp  of  the  Crea- 
tion to  tremble  and  to  sound,  blown  on  from  above,  and  my  im- 
mortal soul  was  a  string  in  this  Harp. — The  heart  oi  a  brother 

40  Linne  formed  in  Upsal  a  flower-clock,  the  flowers  of  which,  by  their  dif- 
ferent times  of  falling  asleep,  indicated  the  hours  of  the  day. 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN. 


419 


everlasting  Man  swelled  under  the  everlasting  Heaven,  as  the  seas 
swell  under  the  Sun  and  under  the  Moon. — The  distant  village- 
clocks  struck  midnight,  mingling,  as  it  were,  with  the  ever- 
pealing  tone  of  ancient  Eternity.— The  limbs  of  my  buried  ones 
touched  cold  on  my  soul,  and  drove  away  its  blots,  as  dead  hands 
heal  eruptions  of  the  skin. — I  walked  silently  through  little  ham- 
lets, and  close  by  their  outer  churchyards,  where  crumbled  upcast 
coffin-boards  were  glimmering,  while  the  once  bright  eyes  that 
had  laid  in  them  were  mouldered  into  gray  ashes. — Cold  thought ! 
clutch  not  like  a  cold  spectre  at  my  heart :  I  look  up  to  the  starry 
sky,  and  an  everlasting  chain  stretches  thither,  and  over  and  be- 
low ;  and  all  is  Life,  and  Warmth,  and  Light,  and  all  is  godlike 
or  God  

Towards  morning  I  descried  thy  late  lights,  little  city  of  my 
dwelling,  which  I  belong  to  on  this  side  the  grave  ;  I  returned  to 
the  Earth ;  and  in  thy  steeples,  behind  the  by-advanced  great 
Midnight,  it  struck  half-past  two;  about  this  hour,  in  1794,  Mars 
went  down  in  the  west,  and  the  Moon  rose  in  the  east ;  and  my 
soul  desired,  in  grief  for  the  noble  warlike  blood  which  is  still 
streaming  on  the  blossoms  of  Spring  :  "  Ah  retire,  bloody  War, 
like  red  Mars ;  and  thou,  still  Peace,  come  forth  like  the  mild 
divided  Moon !" — 


THE  END. 


Richaed  Clay  &  Sons,  Limited, 
e;.ial  street  hill,  e.c.  ;  AM5 

EOfGAT,  SUFFOLK. 


